AshbyCapital has secured a £53m (€68.8m) loan facility from Deutsche Hypo for Morfa Retail Park in Swansea. The financing follows the acquisition of the retail park by AshbyCapital’s group investment company in December 2015.
The facility includes funds for AshbyCapital’s planned value-add initiatives for the property, the first of which is the expansion of one of the units to provide a new approximately 50,000ft² (4,600m²) large-format fashion and home store for existing tenant Next. This initiative, led by asset manager Quadrant Estates, is already underway and expected to increase footfall to the park. The loan has potential for future add-on tranches to finance further improvements to the site.
Morfa Retail Park is fully let to retail tenants including Morrisons, Currys PC World, B&Q, Next, TK Maxx, Argos and Sports Direct. Its restaurant tenants include KFC, Pizza Hut, Frankie & Benny’s, Harvester and Starbucks. The retail park is located 1.5 miles to the north of Swansea city centre and directly adjacent to the Liberty Stadium, home ground for Swansea City Football Club and the Ospreys regional rugby team, as well as a major venue for conferences and events.
Charles-Etienne Lawrence, vice president of AshbyCapital, said: “With its prime location and excellent roster of retail and restaurant tenants, Morfa Retail Park is the premier shopping centre in the area. We are pleased that Deutsche Hypo has shown its confidence in this fully-let asset and its potential by providing the financing for our recent purchase and our planned improvements.”
Walter Love, senior director at Deutsche Hypo London Branch, said: "Deutsche Hypo London Branch is delighted to be assisting AshbyCapital with longer-term financing for the acquisition of this dominant and well-let retail park. Morfa Retail Park shows good upside potential through active management that we are confident AshbyCapital will be able to achieve."
