Q&A with Alexander Robertson, Head of Desk & HNW Relations

1. How did you get into the property finance industry?

It started at a very young age. My father is in the property industry, as is my uncle, and I was always interested in seeing what they did. They seemed to travel a lot and meet many exciting people. My professional interest began when I was about 16, when I had a summer job with John D Wood & Co in its Kensington office. This gave me exposure to an intense, high-level sales environment, which I now operate in daily, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. That experience led me to working primarily with people and ultimately becoming specialised in the property and finance industry.

2. What did you do prior to joining Enness?

My career has always been heavily focused on working with senior internal and external stakeholders, including high-net-worth individuals and senior management. It started when I was at university, when I completed an internship with the Marriott Group. I eventually became the second-in-command of its VIP relations team at Grosvenor House on Park Lane, where I dealt with celebrities, including attending the BAFTAs in this capacity, as well as HNW individuals and senior internal stakeholders within the business.

Afterwards, I completed my degree in Business Administration, specialising in Sales and Marketing. My first role after university was with the direct investment arm of a single-family office that operated as a broadly based investment company, targeting opportunities across private equity, venture capital, real estate and financial markets. I worked there as a Relationship Manager.

I was then approached to become a Senior Account Manager at a discreet political public relations and public affairs firm. Often working in places such as the Houses of Parliament, I engaged with high-level individuals across political, regulatory and governmental circles, as well as senior stakeholders at businesses looking to shape these landscapes.

From there, I joined Enness, where I am at the forefront of dealing with high-net-worth individuals, lenders and partnerships through a mixture of business development and traditional relationship management, feeding directly into senior management.

3. What does your life at Enness look like?

Life at Enness is fast-paced, and everyone is very high-energy. My typical day starts early in the morning with some form of exercise. I then head into the office. Our UK team has recently moved into a fantastic new office in Mayfair at 64 North Row, so come and visit.

Although we meet and travel for clients, we firmly believe in being office-based to create a high-energy, cohesive culture. We are very much problem-solvers, but one of the important elements of our approach is that we emphasise developing personal relationships, despite our industry often being transactional.

4. What do you enjoy the most about your role?

We have all had to complete our regulatory exams, but without a doubt, it comes down to people every day. Whether they are lenders, people we work with through partnerships or clients, the space we operate in tends to be full of interesting characters who do not necessarily follow the norm and operate at a different level.

From a people perspective, it is fascinating. We operate at a very high level, which creates a great learning and development environment for a young, aspiring professional.

5. What is a typical profile of an Enness client?

I think this question is a contradiction in terms – we do not do normal at Enness. All our clients have varying profiles and are certainly not what you would call traditional. We look at everything on a bespoke basis, and this is very much reflected in our client base.

We work with individuals of varying nationalities who tend to have very interesting wealth structures. These can be global and certainly do not present typical profiles.

6. When you are not working, what do you enjoy doing during your time off?

In the rare moments when I am not working, I have far too many passions and hobbies. I do a lot of shooting, exercise, and I am mad about cars. During lockdown, I took the opportunity to restore an old car, a 1984 Bentley Turbo R to be precise.

I also play a game called "Real Tennis", which is the mediaeval form of tennis and was Henry VIII’s favourite game. The list goes on... and potentially ends with my aim to travel as much as possible, both professionally and personally.

7. What are your favourite London (or global) hotspots?

Best Restaurant: I would say my favourite restaurant is, without a doubt, Maggie Jones’ in London. I have been going there for a long time. It has incredible staff, a very interesting clientele and an atmosphere that is utterly unique.

Best Bar: This is a very difficult question, but I would have to choose Harry’s Bar in Montreux, Switzerland. It is at the opposite end of Lac Léman from Geneva and is frequented by jazz legends. It features dark panelling, live music and the ever-present waiters and waitresses in white jackets and bow ties. What’s not to like?

Best Hotel: It would have to be The Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne. It is located on an island off Miami that is held in a nature reserve and holds a special place in my heart.

Best Private Members Club: I am going to have to play the loyalty card here. My favourite members’ club, without a doubt, must be Queen’s Club. It is a place I spend a lot of time. It is a Victorian pavilion in the middle of London, surrounded by greenery, and I would describe it as an oasis in an urban jungle.

8. What are your personal property aspirations?

I guess my personal property aspirations would be to get a property primarily for myself that I could add value to. The long-term goal would be to build a portfolio, a bit like many of our clients do, and generate income while doing the properties up myself.

9. How do you see this industry going?

I think we are inevitably moving towards a digital landscape. This is something we are already seeing here at Enness, with us starting to explore the cryptocurrency space. Personally, in response to this, I recently took the Oxford Saïd Business School Executive Education course in FinTech to better understand this transformative period.

I think the finance industry is one of the sectors ahead of the curve when it comes to digitisation, and I think that is only going to become more relevant.

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