Alternative lender Investec Structured Property Finance has provided UK developer Comer Homes with a £45 mln (€52 mln) loan for its private rented sector (PRS) development in Bracknell, in the south of England.
Comer will use the funds to develop Royal Winchester House, with 311 apartments and selected retail units, as part of the town's wider £750 mln regeneration scheme. The site is the former 3M headquarters building. Completion is expected in 2020.
'The Bracknell regeneration project is one of the largest schemes of its kind currently being undertaken in the UK, and the Comer Homes development is a key part of the final product,' said Steve Cook of Investec.
'As the UK PRS goes from strength to strength, we are increasingly seeing investors identify opportunities outside of London offering favourable returns.'
The five-year loan is the second facility to Comer Homes provided by Investec, following a facility for 168 apartments in Harrow sold to a PRS operator in 2015. Investec said it was another example of how it helps clients employing a develop-to-hold strategy, with the provision of a development loan that converts to an investment loan.
'The Comer Group has been delighted to again benefit from the support and expertise of the Investec team,' said Brian Comer, UK chairman of Comer Group.
