A real estate debt fund managed by Tristan Capital Partners has refinanced a film and TV studio owned by UK-based property developer Ziser London.
Tristan Capital said its TIPS One Real Estate Debt Fund has provided £35.4m (€41m) of senior debt to Ziser London for the refinancing of London North Studios. Debt advisor BBS Capital acted on behalf of Ziser London.
Located in Mill Hill, London North Studios comprises 182,764sqft on a 5 acres site.
Guy Ziser, CEO of Ziser London, said the refinancing “will help us to bring forward London North Studios to meet its exceptional potential in the sector”.
Tristan Capital, which completed the deal with debt advisor BBS Capital, said the funding has been provided to refinance and stabilise the asset with a focus on “increasing occupancy and creating recurring business amongst content creators, capitalising on the significant supply-demand imbalance in the sector”.
The core strategy of TIPS One is to provide finance to sponsors with a track record of developing and investing in prime assets to drive income and capital growth, said Dan Pottorff, the head of debt investment at Tristan Capital Partners.
According to Pottorff, the studio market is currently structurally under-supplied and the shift towards content on-demand is driving requirements for well-located filming production spaces and putting pressure on market rents.
“Meanwhile, the asset’s high degree of optionality and potential for residential and industrial re-development makes it an attractive proposition for financing.”
Adam Buchler, managing director at BBS Capital, said: “We’re seeing more and more activity from this alternative but highly attractive asset class which is currently in vogue due to the supply and demand imbalance in the sector.
”As the sector matures, we expect more players will follow the example of forward-thinking lenders such as Tristan’s TIPS One fund in lending against prime assets such as London North Studios.”
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