Major London investment in Leicester city project

A leading London asset management company is to invest in a Leicester city centre development scheme in one of the biggest investments in the city by a London-based fund.

Long Harbour, which invests in real estate and infrastructure, is to forward fund a major development on the former All Saints Brewery site on Vaughan Way. The £40m scheme, by Leicester-based developer Sowden Group, was given planning permission in March.

The development, which will be 12 storeys high at its tallest point, includes 297 apartments for rent, as well as shops and car parking. The development will also include a private residents amenity space, rooftop gardens and a sympathetic green buffer with the adjacent All Saints church. The site has been derelict for several years, after the former brewery was destroyed by fire.

Roy Coley, managing director of Sowden Group, said the scheme would bring previously derelict land into use again, providing much needed city centre residential accommodation as well as new shops.

“This is a great development which will considerably enhance a side of the inner ring road which has been neglected in the past. We are pleased that it is attracting large scale investment from London asset managers, As well as a first for Leicester, this is probably the only London investment in the private rented sector in the East Midlands,” he said.

Long Harbour, established in 2009, concentrates on property and infrastructure developments which will give its investors long-term dividends. As well as private investors it represents pension funds, academic endowments, charities and institutional investors. It is largely owned by its management.

Established in 1950, the Leicester city centre-based Sowden Group has been, and continues to be, involved in some of the biggest regeneration projects in the centre of Leicester, providing Grade A office space, retail units and city centre accommodation.