Chuck Scott was looking for a new challenge when he left his position as Cushman & Wakefield's chief executive officer in Canada and Latin America at the end of 2023. He has found it as CEO for the newly launched venture capital group Ruck Lane.

“I wanted to move on and explore something different, though obviously staying in the commercial real estate sector, which has been my entire career,” Scott told RENX.

“There are so many different verticals in the commercial real estate universe that have potential that just need to be unlocked, and there was this need for a type of firm like Ruck Lane that is a real estate-obsessed venture capital firm that could come and partner with those organizations and help them go to new levels and help them realize the potential in what they're doing.”

Scott believes commercial real estate is in for an interesting run over the next five to 10 years that will bring opportunities to create value in the space. 

Toronto-based Ruck Lane will raise funds from all areas of the capital universe, including institutions, family offices and private investors. The goal is to find partners that are real estate-centred or real estate-adjacent who can take advantage of the firm’s experience in commercial real estate, structured finance, construction and development.

“They have to have a platform and a team that we believe in and that shares our values,” Scott said.

Ruck Lane’s current partners

Ruck Lane currently has active interests in four companies: 

• Black Dog Development, a merchant development company that focuses on commercial, industrial and residential developments and entitlements;
• Penalta Group, which is involved with general contracting, design-build and construction management;
• Protego Whole Home Solutions, a high-end residential concierge and property management firm;
• and Private Pension Partners (P3), which offers a fully integrated real estate service platform to institutional and high-net-worth clients, including asset management, property management, leasing and brokerage services, as well as investment opportunities in private real estate vehicles it manages. 

Winnipeg-headquartered P3 manages Apartment Plus REIT, which offers a stabilized portfolio of multifamily properties with a current fair market value of $565 million.

How Ruck Lane’s partnerships work

“We become part of their business to help them develop and drive strategy, to work with their leadership team, to advance them to raise and direct capital for mergers and acquisitions, and really getting involved in immersing ourselves into their business,” Scott said of how the partnerships work.

Ruck Lane has found its first partners through industry connections but, as it becomes more known and establishes a bigger presence, Scott believes more companies will start approaching his firm regarding partnerships.

“Looking at opportunities across a value chain is something we're very interested in,” Scott explained. “We want to be thoughtful and strategic as we go and find those next partners, or as they find us, to make sure that they fit into that value chain.”

Directly buying a building or a portfolio of buildings isn’t part of Ruck Lane’s investment and growth strategy, but some of its partners may have that mandate and the company would become involved in acquisitions and developments through them.

Ruck Lane’s executive team

Ruck Lane’s executive team is rounded out by:

• chairman Mark Barr, who has more than 30 years of experience in structured finance and mergers/acquisitions;
• and partner Terry Wallace, the co-founder of Penalta Group, who has delivered more than 10 million square feet of construction projects valued at more than $1 billion.

The company name comes from the rugby term “ruck,” as both Barr and Wallace are big fans of the sport.

“It’s a strategic play where you're covering the ball and thinking about how to meet the next move and how to get the play moving forward,” Scott explained. “And the Lane is us wanting to be very focused in a lane and wanting to be very focused in real estate-centred and real estate-adjacent opportunities where we can be active.”

Ruck Lane’s advisory board

Ruck Lane has formed an advisory board to provide strategic guidance, industry insights and expert advice supporting the firm’s mission and objectives. 

“They've all been responsible for being a part of growing great businesses, and that's what we are here to try to do with our partners,” said Scott.

The initial advisory board members are:

• Anne Morash, the former senior vice-president of multi-residential for GWL Realty Advisors;
• John Forrester, the chair of real estate development for Innovo Group who was the former CEO and a board member at Cushman & Wakefield;
• Andrew Garrett, the former senior principal of real estate for Investment Management Corporation of Ontario and the current chief investment officer of Spotlight Development;
• and Paul Finkbeiner, the former executive vice-president and global head of real estate for Great-West Lifeco.

“These are all people who are at the top of their class in the industry,” Scott said. “We took our time to purpose-build that board because they all bring something different in terms of subject matter expertise to what we're doing.”

Scott said Ruck Lane would consider increasing the size of the advisory board and will evaluate that as the company grows, but he “couldn't be happier” with the people in place now.