Octopus Real Estate provides £10m bridging and VAT loan for Manchester site purchase




Octopus Real Estate has completed a 65% LTV bridging loan and 100% LTV VAT loan totalling £10m for Empire Property Concepts for the acquisition of a prime development site in central Manchester.

The site, a former mill in Deansgate, has planning consent for a 35-storey residential block which will comprise 327 apartments.

It will also include commercial space at ground and first floor levels, a resident’s gym, rooftop bar and terrace, communal lounge facilities and a café.

The client intends to start the development of the scheme in Q2 2022.

Dominic Gibson, investment director at Octopus Real Estate, said: “We are delighted to have supported Empire Property Concepts, a proven investor-developer, to acquire the asset and believe that the completed scheme will attract strong demand.

“This is an extremely well-located site that benefits from having a great planning consent. 

“It will support the delivery of new housing stock in an established and important urban centre with strong public transport links. 

“Having opened our Manchester office in 2019, we’ve been able to significantly enhance our support of regional real estate investment. 

“Completing this loan, introduced by Adapt Finance, further demonstrates Octopus Real Estate’s commitment to Manchester and the UK’s regional cities.”

Jordan McBriar, managing director at Adapt Finance, commented: “We’ve worked with Octopus Real Estate for over a decade, so we had absolutely no hesitation in approaching it with this funding requirement. 

“Acquisition timings were tight, and our client needed absolute confidence that their investment would be funded without delay. 

“The Octopus team removed any uncertainty from the process and delivered exactly what it promised. 

“Not only does this performance support our clients, but it supports the Adapt Finance business, as certainty is key in every financing.”

Paul Rothwell, CEO at Empire Property Concepts, added: “Adapt Finance worked tirelessly to put together the best possible funding package to support our purchase of this key Deansgate site.

“It identified Octopus Real Estate as being best suited to the loan and was absolutely spot on. 

“Octopus funded both the acquisition and the VAT on the deal, which removed the hassle of having multiple lenders; the firm was quick, commercial and easy to deal with, and I look forward to working with it on our future investments.”

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