Octopus Property, part of the Octopus Group, has agreed to provide four commercial loans, totalling €39.3m (£35.2m), 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, €12.6m (£11.3m) 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 45,000ft² of office space let to HMRC & Environment Agency for nine years.
- A 12-month, €9.2m (£8.2m) 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, €6.4m (£5.7m) 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, €11.2m (£10m) 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. Totaling 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.
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.
