Deals, ventures and investments — on the record.

The Gia group did not start as a brand exercise — it started as a building. In August 2023, 27-year-old George Jones acquired Cardinal House, an eight-storey 55,739 sq ft Manchester office block, for £11M from Derwent Group.

Within weeks, the building was reborn as Gia Space: a business hub designed to give early-stage founders the supportive environment, mentoring and operating infrastructure George wished he'd had when he started out. Early tenants included fintech firm Monefi, recruitment business The City Recruiter, hair-grooming tech company Barberoo and mobile network challenger Boshhh.

'Gia Space is more than bricks and mortar,' George told Bdaily at launch. 'It's about fostering a community of business leaders who support each other's growth… I want Gia Space to be the launchpad that others need to overcome those hurdles.'

Flexible offices from 2 to 120 desks, single hot-desks, full-service amenities — and a deliberate decision to scrap credit checks in favour of evaluating ideas, founders and growth potential. A start-up scheme on top layered in mentoring, marketing, compliance, recruitment and even financial aid.

From the first floor of Cardinal House, the model was always built to scale: more floors, then more UK cities — and now, as Gia Vision UAE, into Dubai and the wider GCC. Same philosophy: remove the barriers, supply the playbook, back the founder.

Every deal in the Gia portfolio traces back to a single operating principle: the person running it has to be clear-headed, disciplined and willing to do the hard things others avoid. For George Jones, that discipline started with sobriety — six years clean and committed — before it ever showed up in a balance sheet.

In a 2023 interview with Business Matters, George explained how that personal foundation translated into Gia Space at Cardinal House: an £11M, 55,739 sq ft Manchester office block turned into a business hub for start-ups and young entrepreneurs.

The model was deliberately inclusive. Rather than credit-checking early-stage tenants, Gia Space evaluated ideas, founder potential and passion for growth. A built-in start-up scheme layered in mentoring, marketing, compliance, recruitment and financial aid — the exact support George wished he'd had when starting out.

Early tenants included fintech Monefi, recruitment firm The City Recruiter, grooming-tech company Barberoo and mobile network challenger Boshhh. The hub currently occupied the first floor, with plans to expand across more floors and into other UK cities.

'Gia Space is more than just bricks and mortar,' George told the magazine. 'It's about fostering a community of business leaders who support each other's growth... I want Gia Space to be the launchpad that others need to overcome those hurdles.' That same launchpad philosophy now powers Gia Vision UAE.

Morely Trends is a UK-headquartered luxury retail platform specialising in rare and contemporary pieces from houses including Goyard, Louis Vuitton, Audemars Piguet × Swatch, Hermès and beyond. Gia Vision is an active investor and growth partner.

The proposition is simple and rare: 100% authenticity guaranteed, a dedicated personal shopping team that sources off-catalogue grails, 1-1 styling appointments, split-payment options and free worldwide shipping over £500 — wrapped in a brand experience trusted by 4,000+ customers.

Gia's role spans capital, banking and payment infrastructure, e-commerce technology, performance marketing, and operating mentorship. The thesis: the luxury resale and personal-shopping category is consolidating around operators who can pair inventory access with a premium digital experience — Morely Trends is built to win that lane.

Next chapters in development: expanded GCC distribution, watch authentication infrastructure, concierge sourcing for UAE-based private clients, and a closed-circle membership tier.

Crystal Clear Media Group is a UK-based media and marketing house, currently in stealth pre-launch, backed by Gia Vision as an investor and strategic partner.

The group is being built to give modern brands a single accountable team across creative, content, performance media and growth strategy — replacing the fragmented agency model with one integrated unit operating from concept through to commercial outcome.

Gia's contribution covers capital, operating infrastructure, technology and AI tooling, and direct CEO-level mentoring on go-to-market and pricing. The opportunity: UK and GCC brands need media partners that can move at founder speed without sacrificing craft — Crystal Clear is being engineered for exactly that gap.

Reach the team directly on 01625 801 017 or via the official site as the full proposition rolls out.

In August 2023, Gia Properties — founded and directed by George Jones — completed the acquisition of Cardinal House, a 55,700 sq ft eight-storey office block overlooking Parsonage Gardens in central Manchester.

The asset, originally guided at £13.5M, was acquired from the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation's portfolio (managed by Derwent Group) in an unrepresented transaction — a rare move for a building of this scale and one that signalled a new generation of operator entering the UK regional office market.

Cardinal House sits inside Manchester City Council's St Mary's Parsonage Strategic Regeneration Framework, with the option of refurbishment and extension or full redevelopment into a circa 140,000 sq ft commercial block — a long-term repositioning play in one of the UK's fastest-growing city economies.

The deal — completed at the age of 27 — became the foundation of what is now a multi-vertical investment and advisory practice spanning UK property, UAE business setup, banking, lending, technology and private capital. It is the operating philosophy behind Gia Vision UAE: identify undervalued assets and operators, structure them properly, and hold for the long term.

Gia Vision UAE was established as the GCC arm of the wider Gia group — a single concierge desk for founders, family offices and high-net-worth individuals relocating capital, businesses and lifestyles into the Emirates.

The mandate: replicate the disciplined, founder-led approach that delivered the Cardinal House acquisition, but apply it to the full operating stack a modern entrepreneur needs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Today, the Gia Vision desk has supported 8+ startups and established businesses through formation, banking, capital raises, scaling and exit — with a cumulative track record exceeding 150M AED.

Each portfolio company will receive a dedicated case study covering: original thesis, deal structure, growth interventions led by the Gia team, and (where applicable) the exit.

If you are a portfolio founder and would like your company featured, or an operator interested in partnering on a future deal, reach out via WhatsApp.