Confidence is continuing to return to the UK’s retail property market, with new research from Savills revealing a £1.4 billion pipeline of shopping centre investments that is expected to drive a strong second half of 2026. According to the real estate adviser, 17 shopping centre transactions with a combined value
Grosvenor has reported a strong first half of 2026 across its prime central London portfolio, completing 58 leasing transactions spanning more than 80,000 sq ft as demand continues to grow for premium retail, hospitality and commercial space in Mayfair and Belgravia. The property company secured £5.4 million in annual rental
Ordnance Survey (OS), Great Britain’s National Mapping Service, announces annual results for the financial year ended 31 March 2026 with record revenues of £198.7m, representing 2.1% annual growth (2024-25: £194.6m). This performance has been driven by the expansion of the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) and continued growth in OS
Hillwood Investment Properties (“Hillwood”) has closed a £76.4 million development financing facility with Affinius Capital for two ground-up logistics developments in the UK totalling approximately 329,659 sq ft of modern warehouse space. The facility is structured across sub-facilities supporting the two schemes, alongside dedicated finance, carry cost and earnout tranches.
McAvoy has been appointed as an approved supplier to the Everything Estates framework, a fast, compliant and flexible procurement solution supporting the delivery of estates services across the public sector. Available to public sector organisations, devolved administrations and third-sector entities, Everything Estates provides an efficient route to appointing approved suppliers,
GB Bank has provided a £20.5m structured funding facility to support a specialist funding partner in the acquisition of a 214-unit residential portfolio in the North West. Working closely with the funding partner, GB Bank established a bespoke structure designed to support the transaction while meeting the commercial objectives of
Poor project data is becoming a significant productivity challenge for UK construction, with teams losing the equivalent of more than eight working weeks a year searching for fragmented information.1 New data from a survey of construction professionals by Procore and Dodge Construction Network found that alongside searching for information, 28% of
The United Infrastructure Group are pleased to announce the financial results for United Infrastructure Group for the year ended 31 March 2026. The United Infrastructure Group operates in the support services sector, providing essential services to the owners and operators of UK critical utility and social infrastructure assets. The audited
Jonathan Samuels, CEO of specialist lender, Octane Capital, believes that continued economic uncertainty has further weakened confidence across the UK development sector during the second quarter of 2026, with developers becoming increasingly reliant on specialist finance to help navigate a more challenging market. The quarterly survey, commissioned by Octane Capital, tracks
Funding from NORD/LB and a consortium of international lenders will enable Premier Modular to expand its modular infrastructure platform across key UK and European social sectors Premier Modular is backed by leading investors Cabot Square Capital and MML Capital Partners Deal reinforces NORD/LB’s commitment to financing critical projects that meet
Confidence is continuing to return to the UK’s retail property market, with new research from Savills revealing a £1.4 billion pipeline of shopping centre investments that is expected to drive a strong second half of 2026. According to the real estate adviser, 17 shopping centre transactions with a combined value of £1.1 billion are currently under offer, while a further 19 schemes, worth approximately £320 million, are actively being marketed. Together, the figures point to renewed momentum across the investment sector following a mixed start to the year. Although transaction volumes slowed during the second quarter, Savills believes this masks a much healthier underlying market, with substantial investor interest now focused on larger, high-quality retail destinations. For the construction and property sectors, the resurgence reflects growing confidence in well-positioned mixed-use retail assets that offer long-term redevelopment, asset management and placemaking opportunities alongside resilient occupier demand. During the first half of 2026, average shopping centre transaction values reached £44 million – the highest level recorded since 2016. Landmark deals involving Merry Hill and The Broadway, Bradford accounted for around 72% of total transaction activity, highlighting the renewed appeal of institutionally significant retail assets. Savills believes the second half of the year will see activity accelerate as transactions currently progressing through the market reach completion. Mark Garmon-Jones, Head of Shopping Centre and Retail Investment at Savills, said: “The second half of the year is where we expect the market to become much more active. H1 was respectable, but uneven, with a strong Q1 followed by a quieter Q2. What matters now is the depth of the pipeline; this is not a market short of demand, but one where activity is increasingly being driven by better-quality assets.” The research also highlights a notable return of institutional investors and REITs to the shopping centre market after several years of limited activity. Investors are increasingly targeting dominant retail destinations with strong occupational performance and opportunities for long-term value creation through active asset management. The improving occupational market is further strengthening investor confidence. Shopping centre vacancy rates fell to 16.1% during the second quarter, the lowest level recorded in a decade and the sharpest quarterly improvement since early 2016. Savills attributes the decline in vacancy to strengthening leasing demand, delayed occupier decisions finally progressing, continued pressure on the constrained retail warehouse market and the ongoing repurposing of secondary retail space for alternative uses. Sam Arrowsmith, Commercial Research Director at Savills, said: “The shopping centre market enters the second half of 2026 in a stronger position than the Q2 figures alone suggest. Vacancy has seen the largest quarter fall in 10 years, leasing demand is improving and the return of institutional capital is a clear signal that confidence is rebuilding. The risks are more about timing than direction, and for well-capitalised buyers the window to secure high-quality assets ahead of further yield compression is narrowing.” As retail destinations continue to evolve into mixed-use environments incorporating leisure, hospitality, workspace and residential elements, the latest research suggests investor confidence is steadily returning. With a substantial pipeline of transactions progressing and occupier demand strengthening, the shopping centre sector appears well placed for renewed investment activity throughout the remainder of 2026. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Grosvenor has reported a strong first half of 2026 across its prime central London portfolio, completing 58 leasing transactions spanning more than 80,000 sq ft as demand continues to grow for premium retail, hospitality and commercial space in Mayfair and Belgravia. The property company secured £5.4 million in annual rental income through a combination of new lettings and lease renewals, reinforcing the resilience of two of London’s most prestigious mixed-use neighbourhoods. During the six-month period, Grosvenor completed 37 new leases alongside 21 renewals across its retail, hospitality and office portfolio. New agreements were achieved at rents 9.4% above estimated rental value (ERV), while overall leasing activity outperformed expectations by 7.8%. The performance has helped maintain portfolio occupancy at an impressive 97%, with retail vacancy standing at just 2.6%—significantly below the wider West End retail vacancy rate of 12.2%. For the construction and property sectors, the results demonstrate the continued strength of well-managed, mixed-use destinations where long-term investment in public realm, heritage buildings and carefully curated occupier mixes continues to attract businesses despite wider challenges across parts of the retail market. Mayfair has continued to attract leading international and independent brands seeking flagship London locations. Jewellery brand FoundRae has selected Mount Street for its first UK store, while skincare specialist Melanie Grant will open a new clinic at 129 Mount Street. The area’s hospitality offering has also expanded, with Persian restaurant Berenjak opening on Duke Street following the successful arrival of Crisp at The Marlborough on North Audley Street last year. Meanwhile, Belgravia continues to evolve as a destination for independent retailers, restaurants and lifestyle brands. Eccleston Yards welcomed Weezies, a new restaurant from the team behind neighbouring Amie Wine, while London Epicerie is preparing to open on Ebury Street. Elizabeth Street has recently welcomed jewellery designer Sophie Breitmeyer, while Onyx Matcha Club is due to launch on Motcomb Street later this summer. Pimlico Road has further strengthened its reputation as a destination for interiors and design, with new occupiers including auction house Roseberys and antiques specialist Molly Alexander. The latest leasing activity reflects Grosvenor’s long-term strategy of creating vibrant mixed-use neighbourhoods that combine premium retail, hospitality, workspace and high-quality public realm, supporting both commercial performance and the wider appeal of central London. Amelia Bright, Executive Director of the London Estate at Grosvenor, said: “Our strong performance so far this year reflects the value of a long-term approach to stewardship. We actively shape and curate our neighbourhoods, bringing together the right mix of retail, hospitality, workspace and public realm to create places where people and businesses want to be. The strong demand we’re seeing, reflected in our leasing performance, is a direct result of that approach. We’re also seeing more leading international brands choose Mayfair and Belgravia for their first UK locations, reinforcing both the appeal of our neighbourhoods and London’s global reputation. “Mayfair and Belgravia are part of what makes London one of the world’s great cities, and we’re proud of the role we play in helping them evolve. By continuing to invest for the long term, we’re ensuring these neighbourhoods remain vibrant, attract businesses, talent and visitors, and continue to thrive for generations to come.” The results underline the enduring strength of London’s prime mixed-use districts, where strategic placemaking, heritage-led investment and a carefully balanced mix of commercial, retail and hospitality uses continue to drive strong occupier demand and long-term investment confidence. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Ordnance Survey (OS), Great Britain’s National Mapping Service, announces annual results for the financial year ended 31 March 2026 with record revenues of £198.7m, representing 2.1% annual growth (2024-25: £194.6m). This performance has been driven by the expansion of the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) and continued growth in OS Maps, alongside deepening demand for OS data among its utilities, land and property customers. In its first full year under OS operation on the Government’s behalf, NUAR has brought together records of buried pipes and cables previously held across hundreds of separate asset owners, improving on a process in which engineers requested them individually, and often had to wait days for a response. Instant access to a single, secure view of the assets beneath a site allows contractors to plan works before ground is broken and reduce accidental strikes that cut off power and water supplies, cause delays and risk to life. With Openreach, the UK’s largest broadband network provider, joining the platform and contributing location data for over 550,000 kilometres of its network, NUAR now has data on more than 3.2 million kilometres of pipes and cables, covering over 80% of all known underground infrastructure in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Adoption has broadened across the public and private sectors, with more than 10,000 users and transaction volumes up 115% over the course of the year, while more than 70% of local authorities and 90% of highway authorities have signed up to share information on their critical assets. Across government and commercial markets, OS’s digital map of Britain remains a trusted source of location data and critical backbone of the UK economy. The OS National Geographic Database (NGD) contains over 600 million location features and is updated 30,000 times a day. Four years on from its launch, OS has added a further 16 data collections and delivered 70 major data enhancements into the database, creating the most detailed digital map of Britain to date. More than one million data edits were completed in the past year alone, while use of the database grew by more than 30% over the same period. This data reaches the public sector through the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement, under which six thousand organisations across Great Britain draw on OS data to provide routine but critical services to the public. Its use cases span emergency services and public safety, investment, transport and infrastructure management, healthcare access and planning, sustainability and environmental initiatives, and climate adaptation and resilience. OS has also expanded through integration with key external datasets, including partnerships with the Office for National Statistics and HM Land Registry, strengthening the applicability of its data across a wider range of use cases. Increasingly, this data is being applied to questions of climate resilience and the transition to net zero, to enable better decisions and deliver real-world impact. Analysis integrating Environment Agency flood data with OS’s data found that 12% of England’s roads and 20% of its rail lines could be exposed to climate-related flooding events, while separate analysis identified 1.8 million homes as being at heightened wildfire risk on the edges of towns and cities. OS has also built a machine learning model with Transport for the North to identify which of the region’s 6.4 million households have driveways or off-street parking access, to help local authorities target the location of public chargepoints more effectively. For insurers and lenders, this granularity also underpins how property risk is priced and secured, while for utilities and developers it determines where assets can safely be sited and which need protecting as environmental risks accelerate. Over the past financial year, demand has also deepened across OS’s core commercial sectors, with customer numbers in utilities growing by approximately 9% and land and property by 17%. In the consumer market, the OS Maps app continues to help more people explore and enjoy the great outdoors, increasing subscribers by 6% to 536,000, while OS’s acquisition of the remaining shareholding in Dennis Maps underlines its commitment to maintaining the national series of paper maps. Nick Bolton, Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, commented: “This year marked the 225th anniversary of our first map, and today, OS continues to innovate to meet the evolving needs of the nation. Our role is not just to provide data, but to ensure that it is continuously improving and delivering valuable insights: from mapping the pipes and cables beneath our streets to the flood and wildfire risks facing the communities above them. This work is helping both public and private sectors make better decisions about where to build, what to protect and how to unlock economic growth, as well as social and environmental opportunities. “This demand for trusted location data has delivered another year of growth, and with a six-year programme to build our data foundation now complete, our focus is now on making data more accessible to more people and organisations. Doing so will deepen our role as a strategic partner to government while creating greater value for customers across the private sector and strengthen our role as Britain’s national mapping service.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Hillwood Investment Properties (“Hillwood”) has closed a £76.4 million development financing facility with Affinius Capital for two ground-up logistics developments in the UK totalling approximately 329,659 sq ft of modern warehouse space. The facility is structured across sub-facilities supporting the two schemes, alongside dedicated finance, carry cost and earnout tranches. In Luton, the facility funds the ground-up speculative development of a Grade A logistics scheme of approximately 286,000 sq ft, comprising eight units across five buildings, along the M1 corridor, one of the UK’s most established distribution markets, with direct access to Central London and the Midlands. In East London, the facility supports the ground-up development of a c. 43,659 sq ft last-mile warehouse in Canning Town (E16), a freehold urban logistics site benefiting from strong occupier demand for well-located last-mile space. Both developments are being delivered speculatively to institutional specification and are targeting BREEAM Excellent certification. Armin Senoner, Director of Debt Markets at Hillwood Investment Properties, said: “We are delighted to be working with Affinius Capital on this financing. The UK remains a core market for Hillwood, and Luton and Canning Town reflect our strategy of pairing large-scale distribution with well-located urban last-mile logistics. This facility gives us the platform to deliver both schemes to a high institutional standard, and we look forward to progressing our wider UK pipeline in the months ahead.” Calum Davidson, Senior Vice President at Affinius Capital, added: “Hillwood’s development expertise and the quality of these two well-located logistics schemes made this an attractive financing opportunity. We are pleased to support the delivery of modern, institutional-grade space in two of the UK’s most compelling logistics markets, and we look forward to working alongside the Hillwood team.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
McAvoy has been appointed as an approved supplier to the Everything Estates framework, a fast, compliant and flexible procurement solution supporting the delivery of estates services across the public sector. Available to public sector organisations, devolved administrations and third-sector entities, Everything Estates provides an efficient route to appointing approved suppliers, either directly or through a streamlined mini competition. The framework combines public sector compliance and social value with a commercially focused approach, designed to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and procurement timescales. McAvoy’s appointment reflects the growing role of offsite manufacturing in helping public sector organisations respond to changing estates requirements. By designing and manufacturing buildings in a controlled factory environment before they are installed on site, offsite solutions can meet both interim and permanent needs, providing a fast, adaptable and high-quality approach. Ciara McVeigh, Head of Bid Management at McAvoy, said: “Our appointment to the Everything Estates framework provides public sector organisations with a compliant and efficient procurement route to access McAvoy’s adaptable space solutions. “The ability to appoint suppliers directly can significantly reduce procurement timescales and help organisations respond more quickly to capacity pressures, replace ageing facilities, and deliver new accommodation with greater certainty. “We look forward to working with public sector partners through the framework and supporting the delivery of buildings that provide long-term value for the communities they serve.” Claire Delaney, Managing Director of Everything Estates, said: “Quite simply, Everything Estates gives control to our clients by allowing customers to obtain the best value for money based upon their requirements and not those that are pre-determined by the framework operator. It removes unnecessary bureaucracy and creates a time efficient route for procurement, which delivers enhanced ROI for all parties.” Everything Estates was established by Hornchurch Academy Trust and is operated by Place Group Limited, which has over 25 years of experience supporting innovation and social value in the public sector. Further information about the framework is available at www.place-group.com For more information on McAvoy frameworks, please visit: https://www.mcavoygroup.com/who-we-are/frameworks-collaboration/ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
GB Bank has provided a £20.5m structured funding facility to support a specialist funding partner in the acquisition of a 214-unit residential portfolio in the North West. Working closely with the funding partner, GB Bank established a bespoke structure designed to support the transaction while meeting the commercial objectives of all parties. The facility was structured at 75% LTV with an agreed exit strategy involving the division of the portfolio across four SPVs to facilitate a flexible refinance, while supporting the ongoing management of the portfolio. The transaction also involved a detailed assessment of the portfolio’s rental income, with all 214 properties fully occupied at completion and generating immediate income. Alongside this, GB Bank considered the borrower’s wider financial position, including personal liquidity and surplus rental income, as part of its underwriting process. The transaction highlights GB Bank’s ability to work alongside partners by providing tailored solutions that support larger and more complex property transactions. Working in partnership with the funding partner, GB Bank structured a funding solution that supported the underlying bridging facility whilst ensuring valuation, credit and completion requirements were met. Hardik Gogia, Relationship Manager at GB Bank commented: “As specialist lending continues to evolve, lenders increasingly require funding partners that can provide flexible capital solutions for larger and more complex transactions. “This transaction demonstrates our ability to work alongside specialist lenders, providing tailored funding solutions that enable them to deliver complex bridging transactions with confidence. By combining commercial thinking with responsive decision-making, we’re able to support lending partners on opportunities that require a more bespoke approach. “Our structured funding capability is designed to complement the expertise of specialist lenders, giving them confidence that they have a responsive funding partner capable of supporting complex transactions without compromising on speed or service.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Poor project data is becoming a significant productivity challenge for UK construction, with teams losing the equivalent of more than eight working weeks a year searching for fragmented information.1 New data from a survey of construction professionals by Procore and Dodge Construction Network found that alongside searching for information, 28% of project time on average is lost to rework – partly down to a lack of real-time visibility and teams working from outdated documentation and drawings, leading to issues further down the project lifecycle. Often, financial and project data is spread across multiple unlinked systems, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms, Building Information Modelling (BIM) platforms, function-specific software solutions, email chains, spreadsheets, site records, and outdated drawings. As a result of these productivity drains, as much as a quarter of project value (25%) is lost through disconnected delivery. Recent reporting from RICS also identifies documentation, scheduling and coordination, and changes and variations as some of the biggest barriers to productivity across the UK construction sector – all of which are impacted by project data. “Construction is under constant pressure to deliver more with fewer people, tighter programmes and increasing complexity. Yet too much time is still spent searching for information instead of making decisions,” said Brett King, Director of Industry Transformation, EMEA, Procore. “The real opportunity is to connect everyone involved in a project, from the boardroom to the site, through the same live project information. When leaders and project teams have the same visibility, communication improves, decisions are made faster and issues can be addressed before they become costly problems. It’s not just about connecting data. It’s about connecting people.” The research suggests that tackling fragmented project information can significantly reduce many of these issues. Respondents using a Connected Data Environment (CDE), which brings project information together in a single system, reported better collaboration between office and site teams. As a result, 92% of construction teams reported improved data accuracy, while the same proportion said miscommunication errors had fallen. The findings suggest that the biggest gains come not just from digitising information, but from giving every project team access to the same reliable data and a more consistent way of working. Nearly half (49%) of construction teams said they reduced the cost of additional work that couldn’t be billed because of poor documentation or delayed approvals by between 21% and 30% after implementing a CDE. Respondents also reported improvements in day-to-day project delivery. Nearly all (97%) said project data was more visible and actionable, while 92% reported spending less time on manual administration and data reconciliation, enabling faster decision making and reducing the need for duplicate work. Those efficiencies also led to additional capacity being made available. More than half (57%) of respondents said they were able to manage between 21% and 30% more construction work without increasing headcount. About the research This report is based on survey data commissioned by Procore and collected by Dodge Data & Analytics from 688 construction professionals across the UK and Ireland – including Main Contractors, owners, and subcontractors. The study was conducted to investigate the return on investment that clients and contractors experience from their use of construction management software. 1 – Construction professionals surveyed by Procore and Dodge estimated that 18% of project time is lost searching for data. Assuming an average of 240 days per year are spent working, and a five-day working week, this is the equivalent to 43 working days, or 8.6 working weeks per year. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The United Infrastructure Group are pleased to announce the financial results for United Infrastructure Group for the year ended 31 March 2026. The United Infrastructure Group operates in the support services sector, providing essential services to the owners and operators of UK critical utility and social infrastructure assets. The audited consolidated financial statements reflect the performance of the Group for the period to 31 March 2026, with comparative information presented for the year ended 31 March 2025. Financial Highlights Operational Highlights The Group was selected by Liverpool Bay CCS Limited (LBCCS), part of global energy‑tech company Eni, as a key delivery partner for the onshore pipeline element of the UK’s first large‑scale carbon capture and storage programme, with a value of £250m. The Group’s largest project to date is underway in the Scottish Highlands in partnership with SSEN, supporting major upgrades to grid capability with combined value of £236m+ and a particularly strong order book in the Scotland region. The Water business continued to grow, with a client portfolio now including Yorkshire Water, Northumbrian Water Group, Affinity Water, Thames Water, Southern Water, United Utilities, among others with combined contract values of £171m+. The Connected business (Telecoms) secured a nationwide maintenance contract with Cornerstone, across 16,000 sites nationwide, including Northern Ireland, Scottish Highlands and Islands alongside projects with Telefonica, Cellnex and Virgin Media with combined contract value of £391m+. The Social Infrastructure division of the business secured a multi-year Major Works contract, worth £364m, with The Guinness Partnership to renew and maintain 20,000 homes across the Northwest. This part of the business saw a secured order book of £800m+ with additional substantial wins with Haringey and Havering councils. The business continues to maintain long-standing relationships with public sector clients across London, Midlands and the North, with especially large programmes of work in Wolverhampton through a major regeneration scheme. Acquisitions New Homes (MBO) In March 2026, the management buy-out (MBO) of the Group’s New Homes business was completed. This followed the announcement, made early in the financial year, that the Group was winding down the New Homes business and would no longer be taking on new work in this space. The decision was part of the Group’s strategic shift towards the rapidly growing opportunities in decarbonisation, energy transition, digitalisation, and the wider UK utility and social infrastructure sectors. Neil Armstrong, CEO at United Infrastructure comments: “We’re thrilled to report a record year of performance for United Infrastructure, with a robust cash position and a growing secured order book that reflects the confidence our clients place in us. “The long-term drivers across our markets – decarbonisation, resilience, digital connectivity and modernisation of essential infrastructure, continue to accelerate, creating sustained demand for the services we are built to deliver. “Our recent strategic acquisitions have further strengthened our capabilities across power, water, engineering and emerging sectors such as data centres, enhancing the value we bring to clients navigating the UK’s energy transition.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Jonathan Samuels, CEO of specialist lender, Octane Capital, believes that continued economic uncertainty has further weakened confidence across the UK development sector during the second quarter of 2026, with developers becoming increasingly reliant on specialist finance to help navigate a more challenging market. The quarterly survey, commissioned by Octane Capital, tracks how developer sentiment, project appetite and reliance on specialist finance are shifting as market conditions evolve. The latest research shows that just 23% of developers now believe UK property market conditions will improve during 2026, down from 35% in the previous quarter, with more than three quarters (77%) now expecting conditions to remain challenging. As confidence has deteriorated, reliance on specialist finance has continued to strengthen. More than four in five developers (83%) now say they expect to utilise specialist finance to help navigate current market conditions, up from 72% in Q1. Bridging finance remains the most widely expected specialist lending product, with expected usage increasing from 40% to 44% quarter-on-quarter. Development finance has also seen an increase in demand, rising from 24% to 29%. The survey also suggests that developers are becoming increasingly cautious when it comes to progressing new projects. Whilst the proportion more likely to break ground on development or investment projects remained unchanged at 20%, the number stating they are less likely to proceed has climbed sharply from 37% to 57%. At the same time, the proportion expecting activity levels to remain broadly unchanged has almost halved, falling from 43% to 23%. This more cautious outlook reflects the continued challenges facing the sector, with almost all developers surveyed (97%) stating that obstacles remain within the current market. High build and labour costs remain the most significant challenge, cited by 35% of respondents, whilst concern around planning delays and uncertainty has increased notably to 29%, making it the second biggest barrier to development activity. Despite the weakening outlook, developers continue to believe that improvements to the lending environment could help unlock activity. Falling interest rates were identified as the single biggest factor that could improve market conditions (23%), followed by improved lender confidence (20%) and greater availability of finance (16%). The findings suggest that whilst confidence has weakened further, developers remain focused on progressing opportunities where possible, increasingly looking towards specialist lenders capable of providing the speed, flexibility and certainty required to navigate today’s more complex market. Jonathan Samuels, CEO of Octane Capital, commented: “The second quarter has seen confidence soften further, with developers clearly becoming more cautious about both current market conditions and the prospects for the remainder of the year. Build costs remain stubbornly high, planning delays continue to frustrate development activity, and wider economic uncertainty is making it increasingly difficult for developers to commit to new projects with confidence. At the same time, we’re seeing specialist finance become more important than ever. The continued increase in demand reflects the fact that developers still want to transact, but they’re increasingly looking for lenders that can provide the speed, flexibility and certainty needed to navigate a far more complex market. Whilst sentiment has undoubtedly weakened, opportunities still exist for those able to move decisively, and that’s exactly where specialist finance continues to play such an important role.” Data Tables and Sources Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Funding from NORD/LB and a consortium of international lenders will enable Premier Modular to expand its modular infrastructure platform across key UK and European social sectors Premier Modular is backed by leading investors Cabot Square Capital and MML Capital Partners Deal reinforces NORD/LB’s commitment to financing critical projects that meet Europe’s growing social infrastructure needs German bank NORD/LB, in conjunction with a consortium of international lenders, has announced a £360 million financing package for Premier Modular, the UK’s leading provider of high-quality modular buildings for social infrastructure. The package includes a refinancing and CapEx facility that will support the continued growth of Premier Modular’s leading social infrastructure modular platform across the UK and Europe. Europe and the UK are facing an urgent need for modern, flexible infrastructure solutions to replace ageing social infrastructure buildings quickly and efficiently. Premier Modular is helping to meet this demand through adaptable modular buildings that are faster to deploy, lower cost, and more sustainable than traditional construction, with an asset life of more than 30 years. Over this period, its modules can be reused and reconfigured, enabling governments and public authorities to rapidly adapt social infrastructure to the changing needs of their populations. The transaction represents another important deal for NORD/LB, further strengthening its presence, track record, and project financing capabilities in the social infrastructure sector. The bank will continue to build on this momentum by financing further projects that help fulfil Europe’s evolving social needs. “We are pleased to back Premier Modular’s continued growth, supporting the expansion of its established and leading social infrastructure platform,” said Sean Cook, Head of Infrastructure Origination Europe at NORD/LB. “Across Europe and the UK, governments and local authorities are under increasing pressure to adapt and modernise social infrastructure in response to the changing needs of their populations. Premier Modular is at the forefront of helping Europe address this challenge, and we’re proud to support the continued growth of this important platform.” “This refinancing is an important milestone for Premier Modular and reflects the confidence our banking partners have in the business,”said David Harris, Chief Executive Officer of Premier Modular. “We have built a market-leading platform with a high-quality, modern fleet and a long-standing customer base, and this financing gives us the firepower to continue investing in that platform. Demand for flexible, high-quality modular space in the UK has never been stronger, and we are well positioned to capitalise on that opportunity.” Latham & Watkins acted as the lending consortium’s legal adviser on the deal, while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett acted as Premier Modular’s legal adviser. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals