The Decision-Makers Behind XCap: Leadership Built on Experience
In property funds management, performance begins well before an asset is acquired. In regional markets, the quality of that early judgement defines everything that follows.
XCap’s leadership team brings extensive experience across commercial property finance, market assessment, project delivery, capital raising and investor relationships. Within that group, Managing Director Geoff Robinson, Director Jonathan Craig and Funds Management Executive Luke Barker each bring a distinct area of expertise to the business.
Alongside the broader team, they shape how XCap identifies opportunities, assesses risk and manages investor capital with discipline, clarity and a long-term view.
Geoff Robinson, Jonathan Craig and Luke Barker
Geoff Robinson, Managing Director
Geoff Robinson trained as a property valuer in rural New South Wales before moving into development management and then into senior commercial property finance roles at two of Australia’s major banks. In those positions, he was responsible for assessing property risk across lending portfolios with exposure to regional markets nationwide, giving him a broad view of how different locations perform, what underpins demand and where risk begins to concentrate.
At XCap, Geoff brings that experience to the front end of the investment process, helping shape how opportunities are assessed, how capital is allocated and how each fund is structured. His focus is not only on the asset itself, but on the strength of the market around it and the conditions that support long-term performance.
“What has always stayed with me is that a strong investment case starts well before you get to the asset,” Geoff says.
“It starts with understanding the market, the people, the business behind it and what gives that location depth over time. That perspective has shaped the way I’ve approached regional investment throughout my career.”
That market-first view continues to shape XCap’s investment approach in Newcastle. XCap’s conviction in the city is grounded in the breadth of its economic base, the concentration of essential industries and the strength of the demand drivers already embedded in the market.
Jonathan Craig, Director
With more than three decades of experience across property development and construction in the Hunter Region, Jonathan Craig has helped build one of the region’s most diverse development and construction platforms. Today, he is a Director of both GWH and XCap.
Over that time, his experience has extended across industrial, bulky goods, neighbourhood retail, hotels, childcare, multi-residential and specialist accommodation. Each sector demanded a different delivery model, a different commercial lens and a different understanding of occupier needs. The result is a practical view of property shaped well before an asset is presented to market.
“I’ve seen how most fund managers work. They find an asset, do their due diligence over a couple of months, then raise capital,” Jonathan says.
“In contrast, we watch a site for years before it becomes a fund opportunity. We know why the location works, how the building performs and what tenants need from it, because we built it. That creates a very different starting point.”
XCap’s existing funds reflect the same delivery-led approach. Both the XCap LFR Heatherbrae Fund and the XCap Core Plus Income Fund were built around assets delivered by GWH before being established as investment opportunities through XCap, creating a stronger line of sight between delivery, asset quality and investment strategy.
Luke Barker, Funds Management Executive
Luke Barker joined XCap as Funds Management Executive with a finance background and a clear view of how investor engagement should be handled. Luke’s role oversees investment strategies, portfolio performance, and operational compliance to optimise returns for investors. He is also focused on driving capital raising across XCap’s funds and the ongoing management of investor and adviser relationships across the life of each one.
His approach is direct; investors and advisers do not need information dressed up for them. They need timely access to the right detail, clear answers to specific questions and trust in the person they are dealing with.
“When you’re dealing with quality assets, the fundamentals of an investment speak for themselves. Capital raising then generally comes down to timing for the investor. You are either a match for an opportunity or you are not,” Luke says.
“My job is to make sure that assessment can happen clearly and quickly, and that the information investors and advisers need is accessible from the start. The best conversations I have are the ones where someone can see the logic of an investment and are ready to act.”
That same discipline carries through the life of each fund. Reporting, investor communication and adviser engagement are treated as part of the investment process itself, not an afterthought once capital has been committed. In practice, that means a clearer line between the opportunity, the information supporting it and the people responsible for communicating both over time.
The XCap Team
The Team Behind XCap
Beyond its core leadership group, XCap is supported by a wider team with deep experience across construction, credit, financial governance and execution.
Grahame Chevalley, a Director of both GWH and XCap, co-founded GWH alongside Jonathan Craig and Hilton Grugeon in 1996, having previously run his own building company. His background spans construction, property ownership and community, with longstanding ties to the Hunter and the Upper Hunter Valley.
Isaac Harris, Chief Financial Officer, is a Fellow of CPA Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. His career has covered financial management, governance and technology across property, construction, hospitality, mining, healthcare and not-for-profit sectors. He brings the reporting discipline and financial oversight that sits behind every fund that XCap operates.
Peter Warne, Head of Credit, brings more than 40 years in property finance, including a long career at one of Australia’s major banks. He works across commercial, industrial, retail and residential asset types, as well as specialist sectors including accommodation and self-storage. His credit assessment work sits at the centre of how XCap evaluates risk across both funds and structured finance.
Across the business, the depth is deliberate. Construction history, credit capability, financial governance and investor relationships are all represented at a senior level.
The same people shaping an opportunity at the outset remain close to it as the fund progresses. That continuity is part of how XCap operates and part of what investors are buying into.
Learn more about XCap’s current investment opportunities here.