Real estate funding specialist ASK Partners and OakNorth Bank have provided a £55m co-loan facility to mixed-use and residential development company, Montreaux.
The loan is secured against a 6.8-acre site in Cricklewood NW London with outline planning approval to build 1,049 flats on a site currently primarily occupied by a B&Q retail warehouse.
In 2019, ASK and OakNorth Bank lent Montreaux £35.2m against the same site, to fund the acquisition and planning process. In September this year, Montreaux was granted outline planning permission for a residential-led mixed use scheme of 1,049 flats and up to 1,200 sqm of flexible commercial and community floorspace.
The new co-loan recognises the uplift in the value of the site and provides time for Montreaux to secure detailed planning consent before either selling or commencing development of the site.
Damian Stalley, group managing director at Montreaux, said: “We are delighted to have the ongoing support of ASK on this project. The refinance was crucial to our strategy following success at the outline planning stage and will enable us to pursue detailed planning permission and complete the next phase of our business plan.”
Daniel Austin, co-founder and CEO of ASK, added: “We are very happy to continue our support of Montreaux on this exceptional development site. This is our fourth transaction with Montreaux in the last three years. Of the 1,049 flats with outline consent, 35% are approved to be affordable homes which will make a substantial and positive contribution to local affordable housing.”
Hemesh Patel, director of property finance at OakNorth Bank, concluded: “This is a well-designed scheme that we were happy to co-lend again with ASK to support one of the UK’s leading property developers.
“Outline planning includes approval for buildings ranging from 3 to 18 storeys, along with car and cycle parking, landscaping and associated works. The scheme will bring significant uplift to the surrounding area.”
