Cloudscraper, the world’s only commercial real estate exchange for buying, selling and financing, has today announced the appointment of Matthew Webster as its Chief Financial Officer, who was previously Global Head of Real Estate Finance at HSBC.
Cloudscraper links trading opportunities, stakeholders, their advisors, and equity and debt capital into an independent and unified networked data ecosystem. In reflecting the current deal inception points among the various parties involved at the relevant stages throughout the journey of a deal, Cloudscraper has developed cutting-edge technology and tools to make the entire discovery and management processes substantially more efficient, simpler, and faster.
The company, which is headquartered in London with offices in Tel Aviv, Dublin and Berlin, has been in ‘stealth’ mode since its inception in 2014 and began on-boarding clients 12 months ago, attracting more than 100 global organisations with assets representing in excess of $200 billion.
During its ‘stealth’, it established and collaborated with an advisory board of senior executives from global real estate organisations and a hand-picked selection of industry users to support the development and refinement of the platform.
The appointment of Matthew represents a significant milestone and addition to Cloudscraper’s seasoned management team and its mission of building a world-class leadership infrastructure.
Matthew was instrumental in setting the HSBC Group’s real estate strategy, where for over 12 years he oversaw the debt book for Global Banking and Markets, streamlining the global business model and implementing global standards for real estate lending businesses.
Prior to HSBC, Matthew held senior real estate roles at Hypo Real Estate, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Fitch Ratings. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a former Chairman of CREFC Europe and has served on a multitude of industry working groups and trade bodies.
CFO Matthew Webster comments:
“The commercial real estate industry is set to undergo massive change and Cloudscraper will lead from the front. While PropTech and FinTech organisations have already demonstrably impacted the residential property market, the commercial world is tremendously lagging.
“Yet in this market too, professionals are desperately looking to find ways of utilising technology to make things quicker, easier, more accurate and cost effective.
“Companies are today reliant on tablets and mobile phones, so being able to access the right information, statistics and data conveniently and in real-time is integral to effective and productive operations.
“While the technology may have changed, the way people work has not – Cloudscraper allows all parts of the sum to connect easily, communicate and exchange data with minimal fuss, saving both time and money. We have adopted a holistic approach to everything we do to network and connect the real estate industry on a platform that will change the landscape forever.
“To join Cloudscraper is extremely exciting. I am astounded by the comprehensive system that has been created and this is an incredible opportunity to be part of a company that will be making a huge impact going forward. I believe my experience will bring tremendous industry insight to Cloudscraper, leading to the development of additional system enhancements on top of the core CFO responsibilities. I’ve previously run a half billion-dollar business and I know what’s required to make a positive impact.”
Cloudscraper Executive Chairman and CEO Moses Gottlieb states:
“We are so delighted Matthew has joined Cloudscraper.
“Matthew brings with him more than 25 years of global real estate experience, and has held leading roles in all facets of the industry including senior bank and capital markets funding, mezzanine finance, non-performing debt advisory and restructuring, asset management, and involvement in the securitisation markets. This experience will be invaluable to the continued development and roll-out of the product.
“His professional background includes high-profile roles such as his lead advisory position for the creation of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) for the Irish Government, advising various European and Global regulatory bodies and other industry trade bodies.
“We welcome Matthew and this huge step forward in building a world-class leadership team to help the company drive, structure and scale to penetrate the Cloudscraper platform into global markets.
After over three years developing the technology, the company is ready for global roll-out – now is the time to leverage the platform technology so participants stay relevant in an industry undergoing unstoppable industry dynamic change.”
