Castleforge has refinanced its Clockwise portfolio with Lloyds, bringing six separate loans into one facility.
The deal is on a fully secured, cross-collateralised basis.
The funding repays the previous lenders and will let Castleforge finish the last phase of its leasing and asset management plan, as well as get the portfolio ready for future growth.
The Clockwise portfolio has 15 properties in key cities across the UK and Europe.
These are let under a mix of traditional and flexible leases, run by Castleforge’s in-house flex office operator, Clockwise.
The total lettable area is 1.35 million square feet.
Over the last five years, £180m of capex has been invested into the portfolio.
This has included fit out, tenant amenities and environmental, social and governance (ESG) upgrades.
Capex works are now mostly finished and the portfolio is now at 80% occupancy.
Michael Kovacs, founding partner of Castleforge, said: “We are pleased to have completed this whole business refinancing with a single lender who was able to structure a facility that met our financing needs.
“Having completed the portfolio build out and redevelopment, this facility simplifies our capital structure and allows the management teams of Clockwise and Castleforge to focus on concluding our lease up before once again turning to growth, with the objective of making Clockwise the flex office brand of choice in the UK and Europe.”
Klaus Betz-Vais, head of global investors and listed clients at Lloyds, said: “The Castleforge team has created an impressive business and delivered a proven track record, and the substantial equity capital that has been invested in the portfolio closely aligns to Lloyds’ commitment to support growth across the regions of the UK.
“An optimised capital structure is essential to the success of any enterprise, and we’re pleased to have been able to help craft a solution that achieves this for Castleforge.”
James Belchamber, head of CRE capital markets at Lloyds, said: “This transaction marks an exciting further evolution of Lloyds’ capabilities to support its clients.
“Utilising our real estate credit structuring capabilities, we can offer fully underwritten, quickly executable, straightforward single lender solutions which cater to a broad range of funding requirements, and we look forward to working with Castleforge as it delivers its business plan and beyond.”
