Paragon Bank supports Mercia Real Estate with £32.5m funding for PBSA scheme in Birmingham

By Bridging Loan Directory 4th September 2024

Birmingham-based property investor and asset manager Mercia Real Estate has secured a £32.5m funding package from Paragon Bank’s Development Finance division to support the first phase of its 411-bedroom Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) scheme in Edgbaston.

Located on Calthorpe Road in Edgbaston, the existing office complex contains two buildings connected by a link block.

Previously used as offices by HSBC, one of the units will be converted into a 266-bedroom student accommodation scheme, with the other proposed as a further 145 bedrooms, currently being submitted into planning.

Mercia Real Estate secured the £32.5m funding from Paragon Bank’s Development Finance division to refinance an existing land loan on the two commercial units occupying the site and start converting the first site to student accommodation.

Work has already commenced on the initial phase and will be complete by September 2026, enabling students to move in for the 2026/2027 academic year.

The new scheme is close to Five Ways train station, providing a four-minute train journey to both Birmingham New Street and University train stations, and with multiple bus routes serving both Birmingham University and Birmingham City University, whilst being additionally located immediately adjacent to the city centre.

Mercia Real Estate is a Birmingham-based property investor and asset manager operating in the Midlands and surrounding area.

This deal was led on behalf of Paragon Bank by Senior Relationship Director Simon Dekker and Portfolio Manager Izzy Sargeant.

Since Paragon Development Finance launched its Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) proposition, it has lent £216m for PBSA schemes across major cities in the UK, including London, Nottingham, Glasgow and Birmingham, funding 3,362 rooms in total.

Samuel Clark, founder and CEO at Mercia Real Estate, commented:

“We will be soon launching our student brand in our inaugural PBSA project in Edgbaston which will enable us to showcase our unique take on high-quality accommodation to students in Birmingham in time for the 26/27 academic year.

It was a pleasure working with Simon and the Paragon team up and we are looking forward to utilising their support to build out our development pipeline and working on this project together.”

Simon Dekker, Senior Relationship Director at Paragon Bank added:

“It’s been a pleasure to work with Samuel and the Mercia Real Estate team on this exciting new scheme in Birmingham.

We’re seeing more and more demand for high-quality student accommodation and were delighted to be able to refinance the site and provide funding for the project to start.”