Studies
Valma Vista & Valmadora
Valma Vista and Valmadora are two Spanish residential real estate holding companies, based in Valencia and Madrid respectively. Spain’s economic outlook remains particularly strong within Europe, with prices and yields continuing to be attractive for prime European real estate. Despite the recent rise in prices, Madrid continues to be a comparatively cheap European capital which is attracting a lot of interest and positive migration from Latin America. Valencia has gained the reputation of being one of the best cities in the world to live in, not least thanks to its sunny climate and low cost of living, which is a draw to expats from all over the world.
DOM Development
DOM Development SA is Poland’s largest housebuilder with businesses in Warsaw, Gdansk and Wroclaw. With annual turnover of around £300m, Dom Development now builds and sells 4,000 homes each year.
Dom was founded in the mid-1990s by a team of entrepreneurs led by Yves Bonavero. They could see that Poland, emerging from the cold war, was in dire need of new and better housing stock to replace the poor-quality soviet-era accommodation. Dom was founded to meet that need. The company brought western European house-building quality standards into Poland and its homes became a byword for design and quality.
Dom floated on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2006 and has remained listed ever since, although the founding family retains significant control. It has built several tens of thousands of quality new homes in Poland is firmly established as the leading housebuilder in the country.
Woodsford Woning
Woodsford Woning is a real estate holding company specialising in residential real estate in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam area. In the aftermath of Brexit, the WW management team felt that the greater Amsterdam area could emerge as a major European beneficiary, as financial services firms in London migrated all or some of their activities onto the continent. On the basis that real estate demand would rise as a consequence, the WW team assembled a portfolio of individual properties, with funding support from local banks. Significant refurbishments were also undertaken to add value to the portfolio.
The portfolio is now rented out and will be held by the investors for the long-term.
Branaire
Branaire Global Pte Ltd is an independent aircraft leasing company with offices in Singapore and Luxembourg. Founded in 2019, in partnership with Montrose Global Aircraft Management, Branaire provides operating and finance leases for clientele all around the world, with a focus on regional and turboprop aircraft, undertaking complex contractual work, including firefighting, medivac and special operations. Since 2019, Branaire has financed eighteen aircraft, across seven different jurisdictions.
TradeBridge
TradeBridge is a fintech lender headquartered in the UK with offices in France and Singapore. Founded in 2013 it has completed over $3bn of transactions to date and is growing strongly. TradeBridge designs and provides financing fit for a faster-moving world. Its mission is to help forward-thinking, entrepreneurial business leaders seize their growth opportunities, by providing a range of flexible working capital solutions. TradeBridge uses real-time data-enriched credit assessment tools to provide impactful new funding to its client. TradeBridge employs a multinational, multilingual team across its offices in London, Australia, and Singapore, specialising in technology, finance, and business development.
Woodsford Capital Management
WCM is a Singapore-based registered fund management company. Its principal activity is to manage the Woodsford Foundation Strategy, a systematic ETF investment strategy with c.US$150m AUM (at Jan 2021). WCM builds investment strategies around three core pillars: a long-term investment time-frame, keeping costs low, and a systematic approach to trading. Underpinning all three pillars is WCM’s evidentialist philosophy. In the worlds of British philosopher William Clifford, “It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.” Since its founding in 2009, WCM has applied this demanding and rigorous standard to all aspects of its investment management activities.
Woodsford Group
Founded in 2010, Woodsford, is now a global leader in collective redress. Headquartered in London and with an office in Brisbane, Woodsford assists stakeholders ranging from consumers to large institutional investors in seeking redress for breakdowns in corporate governance at major companies. Woodsford aims to improve access to justice by levelling the financial playing field, providing funding for legal fees and expenses, which enables affected parties to seek compensation for losses suffered and also hold companies accountable for their wrongdoing. In addition to financial solutions, Woodsford also informs, organises and manages affected stakeholder groups with a view to supporting them through the process of seeking redress.
Whether supporting and funding shareholders through collaborative and escalated engagements, including litigation, or helping consumers secure collective redress, Woodsford is committed to holding corporations to account and achieving recompense for affected stakeholders. Woodsford's institutional investor clients include most of the top 100 by AUM asset managers globally, along with hundreds of pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and other investors from around the world. Meanwhile, Woodsford is funding class actions in jurisdictions including the UK, Australia and Canada, where millions of consumers stand to receive compensation for matters such as breaches of competition law, product liability issues and mis-selling of financial products. With more successfully resolved engagements than any similar business, Woodsford is at the forefront of corporate governance accountability.
A B Charitable Trust
The A B Charitable Trust is an independent grant-making organisation, founded in 1990 by Yves and Anne Bonavero to champion human dignity and support marginalised and excluded groups. The Trust focuses on the priority areas of migrants and refugees; the justice system and penal reform; human rights and access to justice. The A B Charitable Trust is managed by a professional full-time staff, with additional business infrastructure support provided by Woodsford Consulting. For its 25th anniversary in 2015, the Trust made a gift to establish the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at Oxford University.
Yves Bonavero
Chairman
Yves Bonavero was born and educated in Paris. He holds a First-Class Honours degree in Philosophy and German, as well as an MA, from Oxford University.
Yves started his business career with Man Group and became CEO in 1987.
In 1996, Yves founded in Poland Dom Development, listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2006, which currently develops over 4,000 homes a year, and Europa Park, the country’s premier logistics and distribution centre. Yves is the chair of Woodsford Consulting Ltd, which he founded in 1996. In 2010, he founded Woodsford Group Ltd which holds corporations to account for ESG breaches.
In 1990, together with his wife Anne, he established the A B Charitable Trust to promote human dignity and defend the human rights of marginalised and excluded people. The charity, which Yves initially chaired for thirty-three years before taking a two-year break, ranks among the UK’s top 50 grant-making foundations and in 2015 endowed the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at Oxford University.
Yves’s first novel, Something in the Sea, was published by Bloomsbury in 2006; his second, The Nuremberg Enigma, followed in 2016.
In September 2023, Yves was awarded by the Open University the honorary degree of Doctor of the University in recognition of his Public Services and the exceptional contribution he made to championing human dignity.
Philippe Bonavero
Director
Philippe’s professional background is as a barrister. He is a board member of several group - companies.
Jonathan Barnes
Director
Jonathan’s role combines his broad legal and business knowledge to understand, prioritise and provide ways to ensure Woodsford and its clients achieve their goals.
Thomas Porter
Managing Director
Thomas joined Woodsford in 2008 and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the company, as well as providing strategic and investment advice to clients. He sits on the boards of a number of group companies and is a CFA Charterholder.
Olivier Bonavero
Director
Olly has been an investment and financial services professional for over 20 years. At Woodsford, Olly’s role is to provide strategic advice to clients. He sits on the boards of a number of group companies and is the treasurer of the A B Charitable Trust.
Margaret Braksal
Group Accountant
Margaret has been a member of Woodsford team for many years. Initially involved in group operations in Poland, she is responsible for liaising with clients and service providers, to manage the preparation and review of financial statements for many group companies, in numerous jurisdictions. Margaret holds an ACCA Fellowship.
Ellie-Georgia
Team Assistant
Ellie-Georgia joined the team in 2025 as a Team Assistant, supporting the Office Manager and handling various office tasks. From managing schedules to coordinating meetings and maintaining supplies, Ellie-Georgia helps keep the office running smoothly and efficiently.
Theresa Loney
Group Financial Controller
Theresa joined WCL in 2025 as Group Financial Controller. Prior to joining WCL, Theresa worked in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK in investment management, private banking and most recently a VC firm.
Theresa is responsible for the accounting and reporting functions for WCL and the ABCT, along with many of our group holding and investment companies. Theresa is a CIMA-qualified accountant.
Ankur Rajesh
Management Accountant
MAAT-qualified accounting professional with strong expertise in financial reporting, bookkeeping, and compliance. Dedicated to delivering accurate, efficient, and ethical financial solutions for businesses. Passionate about supporting growth through financial management.
Kamila Serrano
Office Manager
Kamila joined Woodsford in 2022 as a Team Assistant. Within her first year, she advanced to the role of Office Manager. Kamila excels in time and task management, consistently providing invaluable support to her colleagues and addressing the office's needs. She is a vital member of the Woodsford family, seamlessly collaborating with various teams and contributing to our office's success.
Sophie Bonavero
Head of Real Estate
Having spent the past 25 years living and working in France and The Netherlands, Sophie has recently relocated to the UK, bringing an international touch to the team. Having structured and successfully managed a large residential property portfolio in The Netherlands, Sophie is responsible for advising Woodsford's clients on their real estate investments.
Andrew Lekerman
Management Accountant
Andrew joined Woodsford in January 2024. He carries out investment appraisals and provides financial reporting, analysis and modelling to a range of group companies, with a particular focus on real estate investments. Andrew qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2023.
