Specialist real estate lender Leumi UK and US alternative asset manager Westbrooke have agreed a £33 mln (€38 mln) refinancing package for Fort Dunlop, a mixed-use asset in Birmingham owned by EPISO3, the value added/opportunity fund managed by Tristan Capital Partners.
The 375,000 ft2 property is on the site of the historic former headquarters of Dunlop Tyres, which was once the world’s largest factory.
It consists of 300,000 ft2 of office space, 36,000 ft2 of retail and leisure accommodation, and a 100-bedroom hotel.
Fort Dunlop in north east Birmingham was constructed in 1920.
It marks the second deal between Leumi UK and Tristan Capital having previously agreed a deal to refinance £30 million for One Stratford Place, a landmark office asset in east London.
Westbrooke’s Harry Newall said: ‘This deal underlines the importance of private debt in offering sustainable financing options for experienced real estate investors such as Tristan Capital Partners. Whilst the regional office sector is currently out of favour with the capital markets, we believe there are still plenty of high-quality assets in this space such as Fort Dunlop. It has been a pleasure working with the team at Tristian and again with Leumi UK, who have demonstrated their extensive expertise in the office market.’
Gez O'Sullivan, relationship director at Leumi UK, added: ‘It is fantastic to extend our relationship with Tristan Capital Partners, following our previous financing agreement for One Stratford Place. Tristan are an extremely knowledgeable investment manager with a strong track record in European real estate., Fort Dunlop is a well-located and appropriately amenities asset whose strong fundamentals have proved a compelling draw for tenants.’
For a feature on Birmingham see the previous issue of PropertyEU magazine.
