Zorin Finance, the alternative property lending specialist, has just completed its largest loan to date.
The £42m loan to Eagle Street Partners, a pan-European real estate investment and asset manager advised by BBS Capital, is the largest deal the specialist lender has closed since its launch in 2011.
The purpose of the facility is to finance Eagle Street’s acquisition of four regional offices in Maidenhead, Newcastle, Uxbridge, and Glasgow (pictured), each well located in their respective markets and with significant upside potential via developing, re-gearing, managing, or repositioning.
These assets will form the basis of Eagle Street’s first UK commercial offices portfolio.
The amortising loan over a 48-month term, takes Zorin’s lending to date over £850m. The business, founded by entrepreneur Luke Townsend and backed by funds managed by Avenue Capital Group, has put risk management at the heart of all decision making. It has now funded a total of 187 loans with zero capital losses.
The Eagle Street transaction marks Zorin’s entry into the investment loan market, where Zorin targets a multitude of sectors including Development Exit, Stabilised Residential & Commercial, PRS, Regional Offices, Light Industrial & Distribution, Hotels, Student and Multi-tenanted Estates/Portfolios.
Loans will be available for up to five years with max LTVs ranging from 60% to 75% depending on asset class and with ticket sizes between £2m – £150m.
Flexible debt structuring will allow for servicing via a combination of interest current and PIK.
Robert Foley, head of investment loans at Zorin Finance, said: “It’s been a pleasure working on this deal with Eagle Street Partners and their advisors, BBS Capital, and we look forward to continue supporting them into the future.
“We agree with Eagle Street’s investment thesis that the Covid-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity to exploit price dislocation in the regional office market as both institutional and private investors are forced to rebalance their portfolios.”
David McLoughlin, chief financial officer at Eagle Street Partners, said: “This debt transaction is a key milestone as we continue to grow our portfolio of UK regional offices. Robert and the team at Zorin Finance share our view of this market, and the value creation which can be unlocked through acquiring higher yielding assets and undertaking active asset management with a flexible debt provider. We look forward to expanding the portfolio in the near future.”
Adam Buchler, Managing Director at BBS Capital, said: “We’re delighted to have helped our client Eagle Street Partners to finance this portfolio which will form the start of a wider strategy. Zorin was able to provide the flexibility and speed that we required, and we look forward to growing the relationship with Robert and the team.”
