£43m deal signed to fund city centre redevelopment
The developer of the former Nightingale Quarter scheme in Derby city centre has signed a major funding deal that will bring forward 474 homes on the site.
BBS’s investment management business has joined forces with James Dickens’ Wavensmere Homes and Grahame Whateley’s Cedar Group, supported by a £42.9m development finance facility from Urban Exposure.
The 18-acre site was once home to the Derby Royal Infirmary but will be redeveloped into 125 townhouses and 349 apartments over three phases.
The joint venture will launch the first phase of sales at the end of February 2020, with the first houses targeted for delivery by the end of September 2020.
Nick Spencer of BBS said: “We have worked with James and Grahame for some time in an advisory capacity but are delighted to have agreed this joint venture to deliver an urban regeneration project of this nature. The Nightingale Quarter will offer Derby residents the best of urban living in a carefully designed community which will offer a large proportion of green space and on-site leisure amenity whilst also paying homage to the historic nature of the site.”
How the new scheme will look
Dickens said: “This is an incredibly exciting development for us to be driving as it is not just one of our largest to date but is also of massive historical significance. We have worked with BBS in the past, so for them to come onboard with the Nightingale project is huge for us and for the project.”
Randeesh Sandhu, CEO of Urban Exposure, said: “We are delighted to be supporting a project that will be transformative for central Derby, supporting the delivery of much needed housing for the local population. The site has been disused for several years, which makes it all the more pleasing to provide Derby’s residents with an opportunity to live in a thriving new community in an exceptional location.
“We are also pleased to be working with BBS and Wavensmere who have an excellent track record and a clear desire to work on further developments in the Midlands, a region where Urban Exposure has significant experience and has now provided over £150m of development finance in the past eighteen months.”
Spencer said the joint venture was currently actively seeking similar residential development opportunities in key regional cities, with a particular focus on the Midlands.
