The co-founder and former chief executive of home builder Glenveagh Properties, Justin Bickle, has died suddenly at the age of 51.
A lawyer and long-time private equity investor, Bickle founded Glenveagh IN 2016 with developer Stephen Garvey and property manager John Mulcahy before taking the company to Euronext Dublin and the London Stock Exchange the following year.
Glenveagh’s founding partners and board expressed their “shocked and deep sorrow” at Mr Bickle’s untimely passing and expressed their “deepest condolences” to his wife, Celeste, and their children.
Before becoming involved in Irish housing, Mr Bickle spent 12 years in Oaktree Capital’s London office, where he was a director. Oaktree was one of several private equity houses that began acquiring distressed real estate debt and real estate assets in Ireland after the financial crisis.
Mr Bickle stayed in Glenveagh for just two years after the IPO before returning to the UK where he founded another investment firm, Eagle Street, which operated in the Irish build-to-rent market and took over several assets from Glenveagh.
“Even after he left as CEO, Justin remained a committed shareholder and supporter of our company,” Glenveagh said in a statement.
“We know he was very pleased with the progress Glenveagh has made on the journey the three of us mapped out all those years ago. We are deeply saddened that he will not be here to fulfill his dreams.”
Shane Scully, co-founder of Eagle Street, said the company’s top priority was to provide comfort and support for Mr Bickle’s family.
“A trusted colleague and good friend to everyone on Eagle Street, Justin brought tremendous energy to the table and will be sorely missed,” said Mr. Scully.
Mr. Bickle was also a founder and managing partner of Postbridge Capital, a private investment and capital advisory firm, and served on the board of directors of Nordic Aviation Capital, the world’s largest lessor of jet and turboprop aircraft.
He began his career as a lawyer in the UK in 1995 and moved to partner with the Wall Street restructuring firm Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft before turning fully to the world of private equity. He spent four years as a teaching fellow at the London Business School, where he taught debt restructuring, and was president of the English National Ballet.