Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of English football team Manchester United, is to join forces with the television star Sir David Frost in a £1bn ($1.6bn) property venture backed by Middle Eastern investors that aims to snap up real estate at bargain prices.

In the latest celebrity business tie-up and following news of Simon Cowell’s entertainment venture with the British retail billionaire Sir Philip Green, the English premier league manager and the broadcaster are to drum up support for commercial property deals across Europe in the belief the market is near the bottom of a prolonged slump.

Their new investment company, aAim Capital Finance, has received commitments of more than £1bn from Gulf investors to buy property in Europe. The launch of the company marks the resurrection of the team including Sir Alex and Sir David that was behind aAim Group, an asset manager that saw about €2bn ($2.8bn) of properties under management go into administration last year after Bank of Scotland withdrew from a funding agreement.

Sir Alex said: “The credit crunch has undoubtedly hit everyone involved in commercial property as evidenced by the recent announcements from Land Securities and others writing down their current values.

“I continue to be confident in a recovery on the real estate front and am sure that the aAIM people will flourish again with their knowledge and adaptability to changing situations.”

Sir Alex and Sir David are expected to do a road show. Sir David has taken the deputy chairmanship. He described aAim Capital Finance as “a new dawn in the property sector”.