OakNorth Bank provides £25.4m development loan to Scarborough Group International

By Bridging Loan Directory 18th March 2021

OakNorth Bank – the UK bank powered by OakNorth – has provided a £25.4m loan to a subsidiary of Scarborough Group International (SGI), one of the UK’s most active privately owned developers with a GDV of £2bn, mainly focused within the UK Northern Powerhouse.

The facility will support the development of a new 133,118 sq. ft office building across nine floors at Thorpe Park on the outskirts of Leeds.

Founded by the McCabe family in 1980, Scarborough Group International (SGI) has grown from a UK-based real estate developer and investor into a global organisation with an award-winning portfolio of projects.

Thorpe Park Leeds is a well-established business location with more than 800,000 sq. ft of office space already built, supporting over 5,500 jobs and The Springs retail and leisure park at its heart.

The destination is currently under phase two development to deliver an additional 1.3 million sq. ft of mixed-use accommodation including 300 new homes, and a 113-acre public park.

The site has also been chosen for the new railway station ‘East Leeds Parkway’, which will provide transport to Leeds city centre in less than 10-minutes.

Due to Thorpe Park Leeds’ community resources and proximity to Leeds city centre, the team has already secured a 15-year lease agreement with Lowell, a leading Credit Management company.

This pre-let agreement is said to represent the largest single out of town office deal ever recorded in West Yorkshire and is one of the biggest property transactions in the Northern Powerhouse over the past year.

Kevin McCabe, Chairman of Scarborough Group International, commented:

“Securing this funding from OakNorth Bank marks a significant step forward in the delivery of major new HQ premises at Thorpe Park Leeds, for which we already have a pre-let agreement.

It is evidence that Leeds remains a prime city in which to invest in real estate and reinforces the strength of the Northern Powerhouse for national businesses.

The team at OakNorth Bank fully support our business proposition and we look forward to developing the partnership.”

James Espley, Director of Debt Finance at OakNorth Bank, said:

“Not only will this development play a major role in the long-term growth plans for the city of Leeds post-pandemic, but it’s also a great opportunity to back an incredibly successful and reputable property developer and evidence the strong support that OakNorth Bank has for the Yorkshire region across all sectors.

Now in its fifth decade of business, SGI has successfully cemented itself as a leading real estate developer throughout the UK, particularly in Yorkshire and has strategic business interests in the Far East and Europe!

It has been a pleasure dealing with Kevin, Jeremy and Mark and we look forward to working with them and the rest of the SGI team on future developments.”

Jamie Davidson, Managing Director of Conduit Finance, said:

“Kevin McCabe, Jeremy Tutton and Mark Jackson at Scarborough Group are great clients to work with.

A dynamic business that, despite difficult economic conditions, continues to deliver a high-quality product to the market.

Although the transaction was completed during the COVID pandemic, we were able to navigate through lockdown challenges and secure several term sheets from debt, mezzanine and special situation capital providers.

This week, we executed the paperwork on behalf of the Scarborough Group with OakNorth Bank, a lender we trust and have collaborated with in the past.

We are delighted to support Kevin and his team, and we look forward to working with them to deliver both project level finance and the capital required to deliver their strategic goals.”