OakNorth, a digital bank tailored for entrepreneurs, has provided a £48.3m loan to Vabel, a London-based developer, for a new mixed-use project at 28-34 Queensway, West London. The project, set to complete by Q4 2025, will include 27 new homes, a 24-hour concierge service, landscaped communal gardens, and 251 sqm
On Tuesday 9 July, Cabinet members approved the proposed allocations for essential capital delivery, investment, and wellbeing projects for 2024-2026. The budget aims to address urgent and essential condition, health and safety, and service delivery issues within the Council’s portfolio of land and buildings, whilst facilitating a programme of refurbishments
The Frenchgate Centre in Doncaster, formerly known as the Arndale Centre, has been purchased by Frasers Group for an undisclosed sum. The shopping centre houses major brands such as Next, H&M, and TK Maxx, and is conveniently located near the main railway and bus stations. Frasers Group views this acquisition
Regional housing association Bromford has finalised a new sustainable finance deal with NatWest as it continues its focus on the development of new affordable, energy efficient homes. The 50,000 home social landlord has secured a £200 million sustainability linked loan with NatWest, one of the housing sector’s most prominent lenders,
Bruntwood SciTech has announced that work has started on its £4.5 million redevelopment of Centre City in Birmingham. The redevelopment will see Centre City provide cutting-edge workspace and advanced wellness facilities. The landmark 210,000 sq ft building, originally constructed in the 1960s in Birmingham’s vibrant theatre district, is set to
Aldi, the popular supermarket retailer, has unveiled its latest plans to expand its footprint across the UK, aiming to achieve its long-term target of 1,500 stores. Currently operating over 1,020 stores, Aldi is actively seeking new locations to ensure high-quality food is accessible to all. In a bid to identify
General Election market uncertainty contributes to a slower market says Lismore’s Chris Macfarlane On the eve of the 2024 General Election, leading independent property advisory firm, Lismore Real Estate Advisors has published the latest figures on the commercial property market in Scotland for quarter two of 2024. Transaction volumes totalled
Top 10 UK housebuilder, Keepmoat, will invest more than £102 million into creating hundreds of new homes in Nottingham, with work having already commenced at a flagship parcel of land on the site of a former Boots factory. Partners from Platform Housing Group and Boots joined Charlotte Goode, Paul Hulme
United Trust Bank (UTB) is supporting Westcombe Group’s £34m Kingston Bridge House apartment conversion in Hampton Wick, South-West London. The scheme will see the conversion of a two-block building, which was formerly offices and later a 218-room student accommodation facility, into 70 contemporary apartments. The layout of the building will enable
Family-owned housebuilder City & Country is pleased to announce their recent acquisition of 177 acres of land in the Stansted area. The newly purchased site, currently used for farming, is to be promoted by City & Country’s planning team through the Council’s local plan review process. The land is situated
OakNorth, a digital bank tailored for entrepreneurs, has provided a £48.3m loan to Vabel, a London-based developer, for a new mixed-use project at 28-34 Queensway, West London. The project, set to complete by Q4 2025, will include 27 new homes, a 24-hour concierge service, landscaped communal gardens, and 251 sqm of ground-level retail space. Vabel, founded by Daniel Baliti and Jeremy Spencer, aims to revolutionise the quality of new build homes through an integrated approach that combines in-house architecture, interior design, project management, and construction. The company employs approximately 40 professionals who collaborate within this innovative model. Vabel’s projects are distinguished by their focus on sustainable construction. They utilise renewable technologies such as LED lighting, aerated taps, heat recovery ventilation systems, solar panels, and thermally efficient glazing. Their upcoming Blackheath development will feature a ground source heat pump system, and they aim to recycle building materials and retain existing building fabric whenever possible. Co-founders Jeremy Spencer and Daniel Baliti expressed their excitement about the Queensway project: “We are thrilled to contribute to the area’s evolution through exceptional architecture and homes. Queensway is re-energising as a vibrant community, and we’re proud to be part of this transformation. This is our largest project to date, and we appreciate OakNorth’s support and understanding of the London real estate market.” Deepesh Thakrar, Senior Director of Debt Finance at OakNorth, added: “Vabel has a proven track record of successful projects across London, even during challenging market conditions. Their integrated operational model and responsible development approach stood out to us. We’re delighted to support their growth and bring new homes to a revitalised central London area.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
On Tuesday 9 July, Cabinet members approved the proposed allocations for essential capital delivery, investment, and wellbeing projects for 2024-2026. The budget aims to address urgent and essential condition, health and safety, and service delivery issues within the Council’s portfolio of land and buildings, whilst facilitating a programme of refurbishments and remodelling and in some cases rationalisation to ensure that council owned operational buildings can remain fit for use and make essential savings where necessary. The programme of works will address the modernisation of key council buildings and enable more local based services to operate from them. This Investment will cover many areas across the councils current building stock, undertaking urgent condition and health and safety works to ensure that public spaces remain safe for use and within legislation, and that the council can continue to serve their local communities across Kirklees. Some of the upcoming works include venues such as Oakwell Hall, Tolson Museum, The Walsh Building in Dewsbury, Huddersfield Upperhead Row Bus Station car park. Now this item has been approved the council will look to develop, design and where necessary procure the delivery of this programme of works for the next financial year. David Shepherd, Executive Director of Place, Kirklees Council, said: ‘’The council is committed to making sure its portfolio of buildings is safe, secure, and sustainable for the future. Providing appropriate spaces for service delivery and community activities. ‘’We have a large portfolio of buildings, which have come into our ownership over many years and over time the services we deliver and the needs of the communities we deliver them for have changed. By continually reviewing our properties, investing in those that continue to meet our needs and looking at a more appropriate future for those that do not, we can make sure we are making the best use of our resources for the benefit of Kirklees.’’ For more information please contact chelsey.warvill@kirklees.gov.uk Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The Frenchgate Centre in Doncaster, formerly known as the Arndale Centre, has been purchased by Frasers Group for an undisclosed sum. The shopping centre houses major brands such as Next, H&M, and TK Maxx, and is conveniently located near the main railway and bus stations. Frasers Group views this acquisition as a testament to their confidence in the future of physical retail. Michael Murray, CEO of Frasers Group, stated that acquiring the Frenchgate Centre underscores the company’s commitment to investing in brick-and-mortar stores. The group intends to use the space to expand their current Sports Direct store and to introduce other brands they own, such as USC and Evans Cycles. The shopping centre, which opened in 1968, saw a significant extension in 2006, linking it to a new transport interchange. One of the largest stores in the expansion was a Debenhams, which closed in 2021. However, plans were approved last year to convert the space into a cinema. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Regional housing association Bromford has finalised a new sustainable finance deal with NatWest as it continues its focus on the development of new affordable, energy efficient homes. The 50,000 home social landlord has secured a £200 million sustainability linked loan with NatWest, one of the housing sector’s most prominent lenders, split into two £100 million tranches which mature in 10 and 11 years respectively. The loan will enable Bromford to build 1,300 new affordable homes, furthering its commitment to providing high-quality, affordable housing to communities across the West Midlands and West of England. Bromford’s Director of Treasury Imran Mubeen, said: “NatWest have been one of our key strategic funding partners for several years. The speed and focus with which we have closed this deal is a testimony to our relationship and underlines the ongoing importance of bank lending in our sector. We had considered a return to the capital markets this year, but we continue to refresh and optimise our new funding strategy in view of prevailing market conditions. This deal enables us to benefit from the prevailing arbitrage between the SONIA swap and gilt curve to generate significant interest savings over the life of the loan. Ultimately, this means we can invest even more in our communities and customers.” Bromford is one of the country’s leading developers of affordable housing and last year completed 1,191 new homes, including 308 for affordable rent and 551 for social rent. According to information from Inside Housing’s annual Biggest Builders survey, Bromford is ranked first in the country for the number of social rent homes completed during 2023-24 and has built more social rent homes than any other housing association in the country over the past four years1. Amanda Swann, Director of Development at Bromford said: “We exist to provide safe, affordable homes to people who are unable to access them through the market. With demand for affordable housing showing no signs of decreasing, we are committed to playing our part in tackling the housing crisis by continuing to build affordable homes. Our track record over the past few years demonstrates this commitment, especially around building homes for social rent which accounted for nearly half of all the homes we built last year. This loan from NatWest will allow us to continue our development programme to meet our ambition of building 11,000 new homes by 2032 with 65% at social and affordable rent tenures.” In line with Bromford’s commitment for all new funding to be sustainability linked, the loan with NatWest is the association’s seventh issue from its Sustainable Finance Framework which was first published and accredited in 2021. This deal is linked to Bromford-led targets focused on delivering new social rented homes and reducing Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions. Bromford will receive a discount on its interest payments if it meets the targets associated with the loan. Imran added: “Our shared vision with NatWest regarding sustainable finance created the first green loan in the sector in 2019 which focused on improving the energy efficiency of our homes and has helped to enable our decarbonisation journey with 89% of our homes now at EPC C or above. “This new deal captures our sustainability ambitions for a new era, as we continue to expand our new homes programme with a focus on social rented homes, and as we extend the focus of our carbon journey beyond EPC ratings to focus on our Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions. Importantly, the loan has the potential to generate over £1 million of interest savings if we successfully meet our sustainability targets which may challenge even the most sceptical of juries to reconsider the financial and broader benefits of sustainability linked loans.” Paul Eyre, Head of Residential and Housing Finance at NatWest Group said: “Our funding support to Bromford forms part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the social housing sector and its delivery of affordable, safe and energy efficient homes. “We announced an ambition earlier this year to provide £5bn of funding commitments to the social housing sector to December 2025.This additional funding brings our progress against this to £1.7bn. We are proud to help Bromford continue its great work of further investment in new affordable homes in the West Midlands and West of England.” Grant Vaughan, Treasury Adviser at Newbridge, said: “Having successfully accessed the private placement market in 2023, Bromford has now further diversified their funding base by securing term bank debt. This strategic move reflects Bromford’s pro-active commitment to securing competitively priced funding deals when they are in the market. The deal leverages the dislocation between the SONIA and gilt positions to deliver significant interest savings. “We at Newbridge are delighted to have supported Bromford’s treasury team in structuring, negotiating, and executing this latest sustainability-linked term loan. This collaboration not only underscores our commitment to fostering sustainable finance solutions but also highlights our ability to support our clients’ evolving financing needs in response to dynamic market conditions.” Over the past year Bromford has secured more than £650 million of sustainable finance to deliver the objectives set out in its Sustainable Finance Framework, from the delivery of new, affordable, more energy efficient homes to coaching more customers into employment and training and reducing the organisation’s gender pay gap. Legal advice was provided by Devonshires, Clarke Willmott and Trowers & Hamlins acting on behalf of Bromford and Addleshaw Goddard LLP acting on behalf of NatWest. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Bruntwood SciTech has announced that work has started on its £4.5 million redevelopment of Centre City in Birmingham. The redevelopment will see Centre City provide cutting-edge workspace and advanced wellness facilities. The landmark 210,000 sq ft building, originally constructed in the 1960s in Birmingham’s vibrant theatre district, is set to undergo a transformative revival to become the city’s new central hub for innovation-led businesses. It represents a unique opportunity for businesses to scale and grow in a prime city centre location, within touching distance of New Street Station. With construction now underway, work on the redeveloped Centre City is set to be completed in January 2025, with the new look workspace likely to take on a new name to reflect its transformation. For the first time, this 20 storey building will offer co-working and pay as you go options, complementing its existing leased offices, to offer flexible and scalable options for companies at various stages of growth. The transformation will also deliver inviting new internal spaces, including a spacious lounge with biophilia and cafe, designed to foster collaboration and wellbeing. Additionally, the basement will be converted to include a high-quality fitness and weights studio, contemplation room and bike storage area, while the ground floor and central atrium will also undergo substantial and impressive renovations. The building’s new entrance will feature a striking living wall, incorporating biophilic design into Birmingham’s bustling city centre. Centre City boasts a prime location, less than two minutes from Birmingham’s New Street Station and in close proximity to the Bullring Shopping Centre. This presents Centre City customers with unparalleled access to Birmingham’s extensive transport network, including the expanding West Midlands metro network, as well as an extensive retail and amenity offering. With limited space having recently been made available, Centre City provides a unique opportunity for businesses of any size looking to take advantage of a strategic city centre location, as flexible floor plates ranging in size from 7500-23,000 sq ft are available within the building. New customers will join a diverse community of already established businesses based there, including the Ministry of Justice, the Water Services Regulation Authority, Citizens Advice, Hitachi and one of the UK’s largest insurance companies – Liverpool Victoria. A joint venture between Bruntwood, Legal & General, and Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Bruntwood SciTech underscores its commitment to sustainability and high environmental standards through this latest project. These retrofitting measures will include the installation of HVRF air conditioning in the new basement gym, air quality sensors in reception and atrium, and a new Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) for the building’s water supply in the basement. Businesses joining Centre City will form part of a thriving community of over 100 innovative companies located across Bruntwood SciTech’s six innovation hubs in Birmingham including Innovation Birmingham, Mclaren, Cornerblock, Cornwall Buildings and Birmingham Health Innovation Campus. The refurbishment of Centre City is the latest step in Bruntwood SciTech’s broader investment strategy in Birmingham, complementing recent development projects such as Cornerblock, ongoing developments at the Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, where No.1 BHIC is due to complete later this summer and the award-winning Enterprise Wharf at Innovation Birmingham. This initiative underscores Bruntwood SciTech’s commitment to enhancing Birmingham’s business landscape and creating a city-wide ecosystem across the region. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Aldi, the popular supermarket retailer, has unveiled its latest plans to expand its footprint across the UK, aiming to achieve its long-term target of 1,500 stores. Currently operating over 1,020 stores, Aldi is actively seeking new locations to ensure high-quality food is accessible to all. In a bid to identify optimal sites for upcoming store launches, Aldi launched a nationwide campaign in May 2024, inviting the public to suggest priority locations. The response was overwhelming, with thousands of requests pouring in from across the country. After carefully reviewing these suggestions, Aldi has updated its list of priority locations for new stores. The retailer is now targeting a variety of areas, including multiple sites in London such as Woodford, Surbiton, South Croydon, Notting Hill, Walthamstow, Beckenham, Bromley, and Barnet. Other targeted locations include Redhill in Surrey, Aldershot in Hampshire, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill in West Sussex, Chatham in Kent, Cheadle and Chorlton in Greater Manchester, Formby in Liverpool, Newark in Nottinghamshire, Chesterfield in Derbyshire, Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, Rayleigh and Brentwood in Essex, Dorchester in Dorset, Clarkston and Cathcart in Glasgow, Penzance in Cornwall, Warwick in Warwickshire, and Bath in Somerset. Additionally, Aldi has identified over 100 potential sites within the M25 motorway and another 100 locations in the wider South East region where there is significant demand for new stores. Aldi’s expansion strategy includes both its standard stores and the smaller Aldi Local format, which caters to urban areas within the M25 with a size of around 5,000 square feet. Jonathan Neale, Aldi UK’s Managing Director of National Real Estate, emphasised the retailer’s commitment to accessibility: “We want to make high-quality food accessible to all, but we can’t do that while there are still some towns and areas that either don’t have an Aldi or have capacity for additional stores. We recognise there is huge demand in certain regions for more stores, which is why we decided to get the public’s input on our latest list of priority locations. They have helped us identify where demand is greatest, and we will continue to work to bring Aldi to as many people as possible.” To accommodate its expansion, Aldi is seeking sites that can host a 20,000 square foot store with around 100 parking spaces, ideally located near main roads with good visibility and access. This aggressive growth plan is supported by Aldi’s substantial investment strategy, which includes over £550 million allocated to its store and distribution network throughout 2024. This investment will fund the opening of new stores and the enhancement of existing locations and distribution centres. As Aldi continues its rapid expansion, it aims to meet the growing demand for its high-quality, affordable products across the UK. By engaging with the public and strategically selecting new locations, Aldi is well on its way to achieving its ambitious target, ensuring more communities benefit from the Aldi shopping experience. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
General Election market uncertainty contributes to a slower market says Lismore’s Chris Macfarlane On the eve of the 2024 General Election, leading independent property advisory firm, Lismore Real Estate Advisors has published the latest figures on the commercial property market in Scotland for quarter two of 2024. Transaction volumes totalled £272 million, down 15% on Q2 2023 and 31% below the 5-year average. A smaller number of larger ticket sales, combined with continued uncertainty in the market over the timing of future interest rate cuts and the impending General Election have affected transaction volumes. The largest deal of the quarter was the £45.8 million acquisition of 1 West Regent Street in Glasgow, by Corum Asset Management, followed by Remake Asset Management’s £36.6 million acquisition of HQ buildings, 2 Greenmarket in Dundee and 4 Pacific Quay in Glasgow, let to BT and STV respectively from LondonMetric. Other noteworthy transactions include Ropemaker Properties £14.725 million sale of four prime industrial units at Fullarton Drive in Cambuslang to clients of Ediston and the £23.5 million off-market sale of Malmaison at St Andrew Square in Edinburgh by Associated British Foods to clients of Patrizia. Logistics and multi-let industrials continue to see strong demand, with prime yields around 6%. Office yields are improving, while retail parks offer compelling value with 6.50-7.00% yields. High street properties in prime locations and living sector investments remain attractive and prime BTR and PBSA yields are stable at 5.00-5.50%. Lismore Director Chris Macfarlane said: “Despite a slower than anticipated quarter, buyer-seller standoffs are easing, with increased buyer activity and momentum improving. “Fund activity remains selective and quite opportunistic, focusing on living and logistics sectors, with retail warehousing gaining interest. Core-plus buyers may benefit from potential interest rate reductions, whilst private equity shows interest in pressured sales and good-value, long-leased stock, indicating less distress than expected and expanding their investment scope. “We anticipate that the expected interest rate cuts by autumn may improve debt terms, although development continues to be hindered by stubbornly high build costs and uncertain exit pricing. “Amid the General Election, we hope the victor fosters optimism, creating a business-friendly environment for sustained economic growth. Effective governance is crucial for job creation, economic prosperity, and social well-being. Change brings opportunity; let’s hope for competent leadership to drive our future forward.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Top 10 UK housebuilder, Keepmoat, will invest more than £102 million into creating hundreds of new homes in Nottingham, with work having already commenced at a flagship parcel of land on the site of a former Boots factory. Partners from Platform Housing Group and Boots joined Charlotte Goode, Paul Hulme and Philippa Stewart from Keepmoat, at the 286-acre site near Beeston yesterday (Thursday 20th June) to celebrate the start of work on site and to witness first-hand the progress that’s already been made. When complete, the housebuilder will deliver 604 new, multi-tenure homes, regenerating the disused land and creating a thriving new community in Nottinghamshire. Of the new properties, Platform Housing Group will offer 319 affordable homes. Charlotte Goode, Divisional Chair at Keepmoat, said: “Keepmoat is delighted to be regenerating this landmark development on a very special site that will bring much needed, high-quality new homes and significant investment to the city. “For this historical site alone, we are investing £102 million into creating a fantastic community and we’re proud to stand alongside our partners at Platform Housing Group today to mark the beginning of a wonderful community. We’re committed to delivering new homes for the people of Nottingham and the surrounding areas to transform the area and provide quality new homes.” Laura Osborne, Sales & Marketing Director at Platform Housing Group, added: “At Platform Housing Group, we’re thrilled to collaborate with our partner, Keepmoat, to build new homes in Beeston. “This is a hugely important scheme for Platform, to be contributing to the growth of a thriving town and to provide much needed affordable housing in the area. Beeston is an up and coming area with fantastic potential to become one of the most sought-after commuter locations in the Midlands, so to be leading the way with such a large scale development is rewarding.” Stephen Boyce, Director of Estates at Boots UK, commented: “We’re excited to see work start at this fantastic new development for the Nottingham Enterprise Zone. We look forward to seeing Keepmoat’s vision come to life, developing new high-quality and affordable housing for people in the local area.” To find out more about Keepmoat, please visit: www.keepmoat.com Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
United Trust Bank (UTB) is supporting Westcombe Group’s £34m Kingston Bridge House apartment conversion in Hampton Wick, South-West London. The scheme will see the conversion of a two-block building, which was formerly offices and later a 218-room student accommodation facility, into 70 contemporary apartments. The layout of the building will enable Westcombe Group to deliver 22 units in phase 1 with the delivery of the 48 remaining units in phase 2 having minimal impact on the residents of the completed homes. Westcombe Group is a successful and multi-award winning family owned property development, investment, and hospitality company established since 1974 with a 50 year track record. In 2003 founder, Vraj Pankhania, handed the day-to-day management of the business to his sons, Kamal and Sunil Pankhania as Group Chief Executive and Group Operations Director and together the family have built one of the most successful and philanthropic Top 25 privately owned property development companies in the UK. United Trust Bank is providing £24.4m of development funding towards the scheme which is being delivered in two phases and expected to take just over two years to complete. Once finished, the development will provide a range of apartments from studios to 3 bedroom units and have a combined GDV of £34m. Kamal Pankhania, CEO and Managing Director of Westcombe Group, commented: “I have known Paul Flannery and Mark Stokes of United Trust Bank for over eight years. We’re pleased to secure this financing, growing our relationship with the Bank and helping us in our journey to become one of the leading specialist property developers in the UK. We’re committed to continuing to preserve historic buildings across the country, creating housing and other developments for local communities.” Paul Flannery, Senior Director – Property Development – United Trust Bank said: “UTB are delighted to support another of Westcombe Group’s exciting projects and to once again work with Kamal, Sunil and the team in creating high quality new homes from buildings which have fallen out of use. We are committed to supporting housebuilders and developers like Westcombe Group which shares our passion for creating outstanding homes and building thriving communities.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Family-owned housebuilder City & Country is pleased to announce their recent acquisition of 177 acres of land in the Stansted area. The newly purchased site, currently used for farming, is to be promoted by City & Country’s planning team through the Council’s local plan review process. The land is situated within a sustainable location with close access to existing transport links and has the potential to be suitable for residential, commercial, and leisure opportunities. Located in the Essex area, City & Country’s newly acquired Stansted site is part of the housebuilder’s commitment to its medium- and long-term development plans. On the new acquisition, City & Country’s Land and Property Director, Simon Marner commented: “The newly purchased Stansted land holds significant potential, and this acquisition aligns with our medium to long-term strategies to grow our residential and commercial development activities. We look forward to discussing our ideas for sensitive and sustainable development with the local community as we look towards the next steps for our plans for growth in Stansted and for the business more generally.” Wayne Douglas, MD at City & Country, adds: “Our specialist land and planning teams are constantly striving and seeking to invest in sustainable sites in desirable locations. This new land acquisition is a significant milestone for City & Country as we look to unlock a full range of planning and development opportunities in the Essex area.” For further information about City & Country, please visit https://www.cityandcountry.co.uk/ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
