Akash Ghai

After qualifying in dentistry from Newcastle University in 2002, Akash began his professional career as a dentist. However, his journey into property began with the purchase of his first home in Darras Hall. Over the years, he went on to acquire multiple dental practices across the North-East, and later saw an opportunity to use the profits to buy student investment opportunities and fully transition into real estate. In 2014, Akash founded Graysons Properties and later launched several complementary ventures across investment, development and asset management.

Notable milestones include exiting the dental business in a £5.7M deal; leading the transformation of over 1000 student bedrooms, and achieving £16.5M turnover; co-leading the £223M redevelopment of Lilian Penson Hall in London, and growing a property investment and development portfolio now valued at £333M+ including landmark assets such as Leazes Terrace in Newcastle’s city centre. Now leading Graysons Global Ventures, his entrepreneurial approach and hands-on project management mean he can tackle any project with confidence and operational excellence.

Mohamed Jasim Al Shaikh

Mohamed Jasim Al Shaikh is a seasoned investment banking professional with over 16 years of experience across wealth management, investment structuring, and cross-border transactions. He spent 11 years leading the Wealth Management Division at Venture Capital Bank, where he was responsible for originating and overseeing diversified investment portfolios for high-net-worth and institutional clients. Earlier in his career, he held roles at Kuwait Finance House and TAIB Bank Bahrain, building a strong foundation in Sharia-compliant structuring and regional capital markets.

Throughout his career, Mohamed has developed deep expertise in disciplined capital deployment, risk management, and cross-border real estate investments, particularly between the GCC and the United Kingdom. His approach combines institutional governance standards with a pragmatic understanding of asset performance, income generation, and long-term value creation.

As CEO of Blacksand and Co-Chairman of Graysons Global Ventures, Mohamed leads UK and India-focused investment strategy and capital allocation, working closely with partners and investors to identify, structure and manage high-quality real estate opportunities. His leadership is centred on transparency, rigorous due diligence, and delivering sustainable, risk-adjusted returns while safeguarding shareholder capital.

Dan Salmon

Having left university at the height of the property crisis, Dan started his career in 2009 with a baptism of fire that shaped his resilient and strategic approach to every project. He joined the largest independent private landlord in Newcastle and within just six months, successfully rebranded the company - a pivotal move that would see the business grow and increase its profits by 25%. Within two years, Dan was promoted to senior management, and by 2015, he was running the company. During this time, he also spearheaded the setup and expansion of multiple partner businesses in real estate, construction, and finance. He was also instrumental in the acquisition and sale of over £100M of property assets, including one of the largest private student portfolio sales in Newcastle, facilitating a 900 bed £40M deal.

Dan specialises not only in property management but the development of projects across residential and commercial sectors, with great experience working closely with investors to source, acquire, and manage their assets. A highly capable spatial planner, Dan has consistently delivered exceptional developments, even under the toughest restrictions, demonstrating his deep understanding of the built environment.