Tristan Capital Partners has bought a mixed-used building in the UK from its developer following significant refinancing.
Tristan’s €950m European Property Investors Special Opportunities 3 fund bought the Fort Dunlop building on the edge of Birmingham in an off-market deal with developer, Urban Splash and The Pears Group.
The 375,000sqft scheme was part of a major refinance completed in April this year. Some £135m of Urban Splash’s remaining debt with RBS, Co-op, HSBC and Blackstone was refinanced with Pears, with the two firms agreeing a joint venture on the 35-property Braun portfolio, which included Fort Dunlop.
Jonathan Rose, group managing director of Pears Property, said the sale allowed the joint venture to repay a “significant amount of debt at a very early stage”.
Urban Splash took on the £42m regeneration of Dunlop’s former factory in 2002, completing the scheme in 2006.
The purchase of the scheme gives Tristan exposure to 300,000sqft of regional office space, which accounts for most of the scheme. The property is currently 95% let to 48 tenants including Capita and Midland Newspapers. Fort Dunlop also includes 40,000sqft of retail and a 100 room Travelodge.
Tristan said its EPISO fund is looking to add value to investment opportunities arising from a lack of debt and equity capital. The fund, capped at €950m in January this year and oversubscribed by 25%, has been backed by 22 new investors and 14 existing clients.
