Arc & Co. has completed a £1.4m acquisition loan for developers Bmor and Sam Burt Enterprises and lender, Atelier Capital Partners in Nottingham. The loan is to fund the purchase of a vacant 19th century school on which Bmor has recently obtained planning permission to convert and develop a 155-bedroom PBSA scheme.
Deal Outline:
• Loan size: £1.4m
• Lender: Atelier Capital Partners
• Asset: vacant school with planning permission to convert and develop out a 155-bed PBSA scheme
• Type of finance: Acquisition Bridge facility
• LTV: 55%
Deal Complexity
Bmor is currently involved in several development and regeneration schemes across Nottingham, including a vacant retail unit and 100 beds in Goosegate as well as the Heathcote Building in Hockley which is a 32,000 sq. ft. office refurbishment with ground floor retail. In terms of student schemes, Bmor recently executed a partnership agreement with Unite Students to redevelop a £34m, 270-bed student-led residential scheme in the city centre.
The scheme backing this transaction is the former Radford Boulevard School on Ilkeston Road which is another of Bmor’s joint ventures with local Nottingham developer, Sam Burt. Having recently obtained planning permission for a 155-bed PBSA scheme, the property will be regenerated to create a unique student scheme.
In terms of acquisition funding, Atelier were able to structure an equity release over and above the site acquisition cost which was an attractive element of the transaction.
Philip Kay, Senior Asset Finance Advisor at Arc & Co. says, “It was excellent to work with both Bmor and Atelier on completing this loan, which will be the first stage in achieving Bmor’s business plan for this excellent asset. As a business, we’ve known and followed Bmor for several years and are delighted to complete this transaction with them. We hope it will be the first of many.”
Paul Irwin Director of Bmor says, “It was a pleasure working with Arc & Co. and Atelier Capital Partners on this complex transaction. They understood the fundamentals of the student market well and enabled a smooth and swift transaction. We would be delighted to work with Arc & Co and Atelier on our future projects. We look forward to bringing this £20m GDV scheme to the market in due course.”