CBRE’s investment advisory team – part of CBRE Capital Advisors – has structured and underwritten a £11.2m loan facility on behalf of Merseyside Pension Fund’s Catalyst Fund. The loan will be used to finance the development of 120 flats in the Rope Walks area of Liverpool for local developer Iliad.
The funding marks the first investment backed by the Catalyst Fund since its establishment in 2016 and meets the fund criteria of investing in projects to help deliver economic growth to the Liverpool City Region, which includes upgrading the housing offer, regenerating deprived communities and maximising the use of new spaces in the city.
Iliad (Grenville Street) Limited – the borrower – is a local developer which has built a number of projects across Liverpool and has been strongly involved in the regeneration of the city centre over the last 20 years. The development – the Eight Building – will feature a mixture of build-to-rent apartments, as well as properties for sale. The site will be adjacent to the first phase of a development called St Michael’s Phase 1 – a 260-unit student accommodation scheme delivered by Iliad in 2013.
Councillor Paul Doughty, chair of Merseyside Pension Fund (MPF) said:
“We are pleased to have made our first Catalyst Fund property investment. As the fund is the local government pension scheme for the Liverpool City Region (LCR), it is rewarding that we are able to provide our members with a commercial return while stimulating economic growth in the LCR.We look forward to the potential of making similar investments in the future.”
Chris Shorrock, director at CBRE Capital Advisors, added:
“We are delighted to provide Iliad with this debt facility on behalf of the MPF’s Catalyst Fund.This investment represents what the fund was set up to support, economic growth in line with the LCR’s strategy.
Additionally, we are pleased to support a local developer with significant development experience in Merseyside.
Part of our strategy for the fund over the past 18 months has been to invest in development finance in the regions as it is scarce and the traditional clearing banks remain averse to funding outside of core areas such as London or without significant pre-sales agreed.
There are, therefore, good opportunities for alternative funders to step in, contributing to the regeneration and future-proofing of the local area.”