Atelier funds £6.75m loan for Rengen student accommodation scheme in Bristol

By Bridging Loan Directory 14th August 2023

The development lender Atelier has provided finance to Rengen, the specialist regeneration developer, for four schemes this year – paving the way for it to deliver more than £30m of student accommodation.

Since February Atelier has provided four separate loans, ranging in size from £2.7m to £7.3m, to Rengen for a series of student accommodation regeneration schemes with a Gross Development Value totalling £30.1m.

Rengen’s latest project is the redevelopment of a sizeable student accommodation building in central Bristol.

Atelier has provided a £6.75m loan facility at 65% LTV to enable Rengen to acquire and completely refurbish the building, which is split into flats and located in the University of Bristol’s East Residential Village – which is home to nearly 4000 students.

The relationship between the two stretches back to 2021, and Atelier’s finance has proved central to Rengen’s success and integral to the developer’s ability to secure the best sites in university cities like Bristol and Bath where demand is high and sites are scarce.

Iestyn Lewis, CEO of Rengen, commented:

“Working with Atelier gives me the agility and certainty I need to secure the best development opportunities.

Atelier’s team understand my financial requirements and what it takes to succeed in the fast-growing but competitive student accommodation space – and our relationship feels like a genuine partnership.

Atelier’s fixed interest rates are highly competitive, but their real value – and the reason I keep choosing to work with them – is the certainty they provide on every deal.

Rengen’s reputation is built on our ability to deliver consistently high quality accommodation, and this is underpinned by the combination of our in-house expertise and certainty over our finance.

Atelier’s support gives us a decisive edge.”

Daniel O’Neil, Director of Real Estate Debt Advisory at SPF Private Clients, added:

“I’ve worked with Rengen and Atelier on the last five student accommodation schemes they’ve delivered together, and it’s striking what a meeting of minds there is between them.

Atelier has an intuitive understanding of how to structure finance that accommodates – and anticipates – the needs of agile developers like Rengen.

They’re quick to provide credit-backed terms and they always follow through with fast and certain execution. It’s proving a highly successful partnership and we’re already working on a pipeline of future developments together.”

Martin Gilsenan, Chief Originations Officer at Atelier, added:

“Iestyn and his team at Rengen have been successfully delivering student accommodation schemes since 2010, and their reputation is now second to none.

This enables them to secure the best sites, even in university cities such as Bristol where demand and competition are highest.

We’re delighted to have forged an enduring relationship with Rengen and to be helping them deliver comfortable, regenerated accommodation for the next generation of students.”