- Four loans completed in Birmingham, Derby, Manchester and Edinburgh
- Continues Octopus Property’s deployment of Commercial Real Estate Debt Fund II proceeds
Specialist property lender Octopus Property, part of the Octopus Group, has agreed to provide four commercial loans, totalling £35.2 million, to borrowers in Birmingham, Derby, Manchester and Edinburgh, as it continues to grow its loan book exposure outside of London and the South East. The four transactions are:
- A 6-month, £11.3 million acquisition loan for a Birmingham office campus with Permitted Development. Occupying a c. four-acre site, half the campus has consent for 250 residential units with the remaining 45,000 sq ft of office space let to HMRC & Environment Agency for a further nine years.
- A 12-month, £8.2 million loan for the acquisition of the old Royal Infirmary in Derby. The property comprises a cleared site of 18.5 acres, with outline planning permission for up to 500 residential units.
- A 12-month, £5.7 million loan to support a repeat borrower’s acquisition of a 135 bed Holiday Inn Express. The hotel is located on a recently developed sports campus between Liverpool and Manchester and will be added to the investor’s portfolio of branded hotels.
- A 9-month, £10.0 million loan for the acquisition of six freehold plots that form part of the Granton Harbour Estate and will become the heart of the new Edinburgh Marina development. Totalling c. 19 acres, planning consent has been granted for a mixed-use scheme with residential, hotel and retirement living units surrounding a 340 berth marina.
The underlying fundamentals supporting investment and development in the regional commercial property markets remain favourable, driven by the relatively low interest rate environment, high investment costs in and around the South East and a focus on regional development. To support its growth ambitions, Octopus Property has continued to add to its regional teams, having made seven new hires since the start of 2018.
Ludo Mackenzie, Head of Commercial Property at Octopus Property, commented:
“As we grow the Octopus Property business it is our intention to substantially increase lending activities beyond our original core markets of London and the South East. While we have always been a national lender, we are now regularly seeing high-quality opportunities to back talented investors and developers in the regional markets.”
Sirius Private Clients acted as broker on the Birmingham transaction. BBS Capital acted as broker on the Derby transaction. John Charcol acted as broker on the Edinburgh transaction.
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For journalists in their professional capacity only. Personal opinions may change and should not be seen as advice or a recommendation. We do not offer investment or tax advice. Issued by Octopus Property. Octopus Property is the trading name of Bridgeco Ltd (Reg No 6629989), Fern Trading Ltd (Reg No 6447318), Nino Ltd (Reg No 9015082), Octopus Property Lending Ltd (Reg No 7531926) and Octopus Co-Lend Ltd (Reg No 8913299), Registered Office: 33 Holborn, London EC1N 2HT, registered in England and Wales and Dragonfly Finance S.ar.l. (Reg No B189290) Registered Office: Parc d’Activité Syrdall, 6 Rue Gabriel Lippmann, L-5365, Munsbach, Luxembourg registered in Luxembourg. Octopus Property Lending Ltd and Octopus Co-Lend Ltd are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Issued August 2018.