Blackstone and Clearbell Capital have backed residential development lender Pluto Finance with new equity.
Funds managed by the two companies have added equity to Pluto, which lends to developers of residential property in the south of the UK. Clearbell has previously backed Pluto through its mezzanine debt platform, the Mountgrange Real Estate Opportunity Fund vehicle.
Pluto said it has raised £94m (€114m) of new equity – having raised £100m in May last year. The company said it can lend £360m to residential development schemes in London and the south of England.
Pluto typically lends to developers through stretched senior loans of up to 90% of the cost of the development, with a minimum loan size of £10m.
Stretched senior loans to fund schemes in the last 12 months totaled £170m in development value, including a £24m loan for a 111-unit scheme in Surrey Quays, south-east London.
Mezzanine finance – for projects costing under £10m – has also been provided by Pluto to developers. More than £290m has been lent in the mezzanine segment in the last three years.
