Two of Scotland's leading property entrepreneurs have formed a dynamic new commercial partnership.

David Hunter, of Hunter Advisers, has created a new property investment subsidiary, Hunter Capital Partners, and has joined forces with Ken Ross, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Glasgow-based Elphinstone property developers, to create a unique partnership in Scotland.

The two have established Inverness Commercial LLP to undertake a £27 million retail development at Slackbuie in Inverness as the first initiative of a new and specialised commercial property arm of Elphinstone, to be headed by Ken Campbell, one of the four principal directors of Elphinstone.

David Hunter, formerly one of the UK's most highly-regarded property fund managers, established Hunter Advisers, a Property Fund Consultancy, in 2005 after front line roles in property investment, most recently as MD of £6.5bn Arlington Property Investors. His new venture, Hunter Capital partners, has a £150m war chest for investment and development joint ventures in the UK and Europe.

Ken Ross is an established leading player in commercial property and has been the driving force in making Giffnock-based Elphinstone one of the most innovative companies of its kind in Scotland.

Elphinstone, a significant Scottish land-owner following its acquisition of United Auctions in 2005, is developing Scotland's tallest building, a prestigious office and housing development in the centre of Glasgow. It is also the company behind the award-winning City Park, the regenerated former cigarette factory at Dennistoun in Glasgow, and is developing a sustainable urban village of 1600 homes to the west-side of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.

Elphinstone has been preparing for a major development at Slackbuie for some years. Inverness Commercial, the new joint venture, will take over responsibility for developing the 25-acre site which is subject to two outline planning applications – a £27m, 45,000 sq ft ASDA superstore and petrol filling station and an adjacent medical centre and 100-bed hotel – which would bring an investment of around £40m to the city.

Ken Ross, Chairman and Chief Executive of Elphinstone said: "We want to increase the scale and scope of our commercial property arm. The joint venture with David is a very good mix of skills, experience and resources. We intend to deliver significant developments in Scotland and already we are working together on some exciting opportunities."

He added: "The relationship adds an important dimension to our business, strengthening our competitive position in commercial property development and in turn accelerating our capacity and our growth."

David Hunter, Managing Director of Hunter Capital Partners, said: "I have been looking for opportunities where my experience and access to capital can be aligned with an entrepreneurial developer in a small number of projects. Elphinstone meets this need precisely and I am delighted to be partnering them."

For further information, please contact:

David Hunter, Hunter Capital Partners
0141 204 4041 / 07767 432203 / david@hunteradvisers.co.uk

Jenny Kumar, Liddell Thomson
0141 221 5775 / jenny@liddellthomson.com

Note to Editors:

Elphinstone's City Park was awarded Commercial Property Development of the Year at the 2006 Scottish Property Awards.