Urban Exposure provides SevenCapital with £90m in financing for two residential schemes

By Bridging Loan Directory 31st January 2019

Urban Exposure plc (“Urban Exposure” or “the Company”), a leading UK residential development financier and asset manager, has completed two loans worth a combined total of £89.7m to experienced residential property developer SevenCapital. Both loans were signed in Q4 2018 and formed part of the £522 million of new loans Urban Exposure completed between its IPO on 9th May and the year end 2018, as detailed in its Lending Update announcement dated 31 December 2018.

The Company has agreed to finance a £40.2 million senior development facility to help fund the residential scheme St Martin’s Place, Birmingham, and will also provide SevenCapital with £49.5m in financing for a residential development in Bracknell, Berkshire.

At St Martin’s Place, SevenCapital will use the funds to build a 228-unit residential scheme, together with ground-floor retail, amenities and parking. The project has a forecast Gross Development Value (GDV) of £67m. Planning consent is already in place for the scheme and SevenCapital owns the land, having developed a 253-bed hotel at the front of the site. Colmore Tang, a construction company owned by the wider SevenCapital Group which is responsible for the construction of most of SevenCapital’s development projects, will lead the build process.

In Bracknell, SevenCapital will use the £49.5m financing facility to fund the acquisition and development of the former bus station in the centre of the town. SevenCapital plans to build 242 apartments across two blocks, with 181 private residential units and 61 affordable housing units. The site will also have 2,680 sq ft of offices and 184 car parking spaces. The overall GDV of the development is expected to be £68m.

Commenting, Randeesh Sandhu, CEO of Urban Exposure, said:

“We are delighted to be financing two very impressive residential developments in thriving areas of the UK. St Martin’s Place is set in one of the UK’s fastest growing and largest cities and will service a growing need for housing in the area. The historic town of Bracknell has also undergone significant regeneration over the last 10 years, and this development will meet growing demand in the town.

“SevenCapital is a highly experienced developer with a long history of delivering quality projects in the Midlands and wider UK and we look forward to working with them now and in the future.”

Commenting, Damien Siviter, Director of Seven Capital, added:

“At SevenCapital, we are committed to delivering every project we undertake to a very high standard and are proud to boast a strong track record of doing so. Therefore, it’s essential we choose partners who are accomplished, with equal values and dedication to ensuring that our schemes continue to deliver the market-leading quality for which we have become renowned.

“Urban Exposure proved a perfect fit for our St Martin’s Place scheme in Birmingham, with a strong track record of providing lending and support to residential developers and housebuilders across the West Midlands.

“Likewise, we look forward to partnering again on our Bracknell scheme, and to working with Urban Exposure more in the future.”