OakNorth Bank and The Mezz Lender co-lend £15m to refinance Soho’s famous 100 Wardour Street

By Bridging Loan Directory 19th April 2023

OakNorth Bank, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs and principal mezzanine finance lender, The Mezz Lender, who acted as the Arranger on the transaction, have provided a £15m loan to The Consolidated Group, to refinance Soho’s famous 100 Wardour St address.

Located at 90-100 Wardour Street, the property is situated on one of Soho’s busiest streets and is within close proximity to Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Circus and Leicester Square tube stations.

The site consists of the famous lounge, bar and restaurant 100 Wardour Street, offering guests live music and cocktails on the ground floor and basement, as well as 11 residential units are spread across the upper four storeys.

Founded in 1984 by Laurence Kirschel, The Consolidated Group specialises in redeveloping real estate throughout central London’s Soho and Covent Garden areas. By combining lateral thinking and innovative ideas to maximise the potential of all sites it acquires, the Group’s portfolio totals c.£2.0b.

Laurence Kirschel, Director and Founder of The Consolidated Group, commented:

“100 Wardour is a legendary address within London’s Soho. Dating back to the 1960’s, the site was once used as the famous music venue, The Marquee Club, which hosted music acts such as, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix.

Today, the site is one of the most popular mixed-use schemes in Soho, and we’re delighted to be part of its rich history.

The capability of The Mezz Lender and OakNorth to work together to deliver us a truly bespoke package that provided all our funding requirements under one facility has been invaluable.

We look forward to working with both of them in the future.”

Lucas Anglin, Associate Director at OakNorth Bank, added:

“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to support one of Soho and Covent Garden’s most distinguished and experienced property developers.

The Consolidated Group has built a truly remarkable business and we look forward to continuing to support the business with its future projects throughout 2023 and the years ahead.”

Simon Pollins, CEO of The Mezz Lender, said:

“We are always happy to support professional and experienced property developers and investors, such as The Consolidated Group.

The Property is in an iconic location in Soho and the sponsor’s pedigree is first class. Being a principal lender, allowed us to make a quick and informed decision to lend, and we were delighted to bring onboard our partners at OakNorth Bank.

Thanks as well to Avier Capital for the introduction to this deal.”