Silbury Finance provides £96.5 million funding for Old Kent Road & Reading developments

By Bridging Loan Directory 1st August 2022

Silbury Finance, the Oaktree Capital Management-backed development lender, has completed two senior development facilities, totalling £96.5 million, to fund the delivery of residential-for-sale schemes on the Old Kent Road, SE15, and in Reading.

Silbury has provided Avanton, the London property developer, with a £68 million stretch facility.

It will fund the redevelopment of the former Carpetright warehouse into 262 mixed tenure flats, including 92 much needed affordable units, across two towers, at Avanton’s landmark regeneration project on the Old Kent Road, known as The Ruby.

Offering residents panoramic views over the London cityscape, construction of the sustainable scheme will commence in September, with the first homes ready for residents in H2 2024 and the remainder in the early part of 2025.

Alongside 23,142 sq ft of commercial space, residents will benefit from two adjoining squares and a community park as well as the areas excellent public transport connectivity, with both Bank and Oxford Circus tube stations less than 30 minutes away.

In a second transaction, in Reading, Silbury has provided Kings Oak Capital with a £28.5 million acquisition and development loan.

The 24-month facility, at 69% LTGDV, will support the borrower’s conversion of an office block, formerly the UK headquarters of Three, into 110 flats, with the construction phase expected to complete in H2 2023.

The 2.6-acre site occupies a prime central Reading location, benefitting from its proximity to Reading Station, where Crossrail services commenced earlier this year, as well as views of the River Thames.

Following these transactions, Silbury has now provided nearly £335 million of development finance across the critically undersupplied UK residential-for-sale and retirement living sectors in under 18 months.

Gavin Eustace, Founding Partner at Silbury Finance commented:

“Against a backdrop of high inflation and rising interest rates, the UK urban residential sector continues to demonstrate its defensive characteristics and remains one of our conviction calls.

These schemes in particular have been designed with resident wellbeing at their centre, occupying high growth urban neighbourhoods with an abundance of green space, and benefitting from excellent infrastructure connectivity.

As we remain on target to reach half a billion pounds of lending by the end of 2022, we will remain highly disciplined, targeting structurally undersupplied sectors and partnering with experienced developers with a track record of delivering successful projects.”

Omer Weinberger, Chief Executive Officer at Avanton, commented:

“Securing this finance package is a major milestone for our Old Kent Road ambitions, where we are delivering a range of housing types to meet the urgent need of Londoners.

The Silbury team have deep experience in this part of the market, which now more than ever is critical, and we look forward to growing the relationship.”

Deepak Khullar, Managing Director of Kings Oak Capital, said:

“The support from Silbury Finance will allow us to deliver 110 apartments in a location where demand has continued to outpace supply.

The scheme is well located for residents and will benefit from the newly opening Crossrail Line, with the mainline station on the doorstep of this site.

The conversion of office buildings continues to be a sustainable way to combat the housing crisis and we are excited to bring this project to fruition.

Silbury were a pleasure to deal with and worked with us to bring this matter to a swift conclusion every step of the way.”