About Us

Lorna Brown is the Chief Executive Officer at Birchwood Real Estate Capital and a member of its investment committee.

Lorna has over 25 years’ experience across real estate equity and debt. She established Birchwood Real Estate in 2022 following a diverse career across a range of financial institutions and investors spanning private equity and investment management including Blackstone and Legal & General Investment Management.

During her career Lorna has executed in excess of £20bn of real estate transactions globally. Lorna was included in ‘Top 51 Most Influential Women in UK Real Estate’ and ‘Top 10 Property Bankers’ by Estates Gazette.

Lorna graduated from the University of Strathclyde where she received a BA (Hons) in Planning and the University of Aberdeen with a Master’s degree in Land Economy. Lorna is a fellow of the RICS. Download V Card

Matt is a Managing Director at Birchwood with responsibility for the fund and asset management functions of the business. His main focus is to continue to support the strong growth Birchwood has achieved since launch through fundraising, asset management and investor relations. Matt has over 20 years of experience within the real estate sector gained across law firms, investment banks, private equity and development companies. He spent over 9 years at the central London developer, Almacantar, where as COO he was involved in delivering some of the capital’s most iconic buildings whilst also having direct oversight of all equity and debt transactions of the business. Throughout his career Matt has negotiated over £10 billion of real estate transactions as both principal and adviser and brings significant experience in real estate finance as a borrower to the team. He has also gained deep experience in structuring and managing business operations in order to maximise team efficiency and commercial outcomes. Prior to Almacantar, Matt spent nearly 5 years at Brookfield Asset Management as well as stints at the Royal Bank of Scotland and the law firm Ashurst. He is qualified as solicitor in England & Wales. Download V Card

Kate Tovey is a Director at Birchwood Real Estate Capital, where she focuses on originating and executing new investment opportunities across the UK and Europe.

Kate has extensive experience in Real Estate and Real Estate Finance having worked for a number of leading financial institutions in London, including Legal & General Investment Management and Lloyds Banking Group. Kate has a broad understanding across Investment Management and Asset Management having acted as both a borrower and lender through recent cycles. Kate is currently co-chair of the Board of Advisors for the Commercial Real Estate Finance Committee Europe.

Kate graduated from the University of Liverpool where she received a BSc in Economics. Kate is CFA Level 3 qualified. Download V Card

Carole Cook supports the investment process and operations of Birchwood Real Estate Capital and has over 16 years experience working in commercial real estate.

Before joining Birchwood, Carole was an Associate Director in the City Investment team at Cushman & Wakefield providing advice on the sale and purchase of London commercial office investments. Prior to this, Carole spent 4 years in the City Professional team. Carole also undertook a 3 year secondment at Blackstone Real Estate working as an asset manager for Lorna on a large commercial property portfolio.

Carole graduated from the University of the West of England, Bristol where she received a BSc (Hons) in Valuation and Estate Management. Carole is a member of the RICS. Download V Card

Libby Thelwall is a Director at Birchwood Real Estate Capital, where she focuses on originating and executing new investment opportunities across the UK and Europe.

Prior to joining Birchwood, Libby was a Director in the Real Estate Debt team at Legal & General Investment Management. During her six years at L&G, she was responsible for sourcing lending opportunities for a range of institutional clients and LGIM’s credit fund, predominantly in the UK but also in Western Europe. Libby also helped to build out the US real estate debt arm of L&G across 2020 and 2021. Libby also worked at UBS Asset Management.

Libby graduated from the University of Exeter where she received a BSc in Economics and the University of Reading with a Master’s degree in Real Estate Finance. Libby holds the Investment Management Certificate. Download V Card

David McMurtry is an Analyst at Birchwood Real Estate Capital, focusing on underwriting and executing new investment opportunities across the UK and Europe.

Before joining Birchwood, David worked as an Analyst at Eastdil Secured in London, advising institutional investors on equity and debt transactions across the UK and Europe. Prior to this, David spent over 3 years working in the Project and Development Services team at JLL in Toronto, Canada, delivering capital projects on behalf of government, healthcare and education sector clients.

David graduated from McGill University where he received a BEng in Civil Engineering and Bayes Business School (previously Cass) with a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). Download V Card

David directs the company’s overall financial management and oversees control and reporting, taxation and valuation. He brings a broad range of global experience in real estate including specialisation across financial management, property management and development. Prior to joining the group, he was Head of Accounting and Tax at a leading global provider of high value business services.

David is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (“CIMA”). Download V Card

Isabel Stibbs is an Analyst at Birchwood Real Estate Capital, focusing on underwriting and executing new investment opportunities across the UK and Europe. Before joining Birchwood, Isabel spent over 3 years at ICG (Intermediate Capital Group) in the Real Estate Debt team gaining exposure to a pan European fund. During Isabel’s time at ICG she underwrote and analysed loans across the capital stack and with investment themes varying from traditional to alternative asset classes. Isabel joined ICG on their graduate program, where her first rotation was in the Asset Management team before moving into the Investment team. Isabel graduated from the University of Exeter where she received a BSC in Geography and has also completed CFA Level 1. Download V Card

Marni Peterson is a Personal Assistant at Birchwood Real Estate Capital, providing administrative support to the executive team and assisting with a range of internal and external business needs. Prior to joining Birchwood, Marni spent two and a half years at EOS Deal Advisory, a boutique M&A Consulting firm, where she provided EA support to the Co-Founders and Senior Leadership team, helping to manage day to day operations. Download V Card