Developer draws down £3.7m from loan facility to kickstart Lutterworth scheme
Fortwell Capital, the lender to UK property developers and investors, has extended its lending to Tungsten Properties, the mid-box industrial and warehouse developer, to over £30m with the completion of a new £3.7m development facility.
The cash will be used to fund the acquisition and development of a 41,000 sq ft multi-let industrial scheme in Lutterworth, which will deliver 13 industrial warehouse buildings ranging in size from 2,500 sq ft to 4,000 sq ft. Tungsten Properties has now completed the site purchase and commenced construction, with practical completion due in Q3 2021.
The loan is part of the £50m revolving credit facility which Fortwell agreed with Tungsten Properties’ in March this year, and is now over 60% deployed. Earlier tranches include a £23m development facility for another eleven-unit industrial scheme in Witney, Oxfordshire, and a £4.4m tranche to fund the development of Tungsten Park in Witham, Essex.
Nikos Yerolemou-Ennsgraber, associate director, Fortwell Capital, said: “We are pleased to be deploying more credit to support Tungsten on Lutterworth and their development pipeline over the long term.
“Fortwell is working towards extending its industrial lending with Tungsten Properties and more broadly, recognising that it is a critical sector in the current, fast-paced climate. Enabling these kinds of projects quickly and affording developers the flexibility they need will be hugely important for getting key projects off the ground and creating jobs in the UK.
“In this sense, revolving credit facilities lend themselves particularly well to industrial projects at this time, and we are actively looking to partner with established and experienced operators.”
Jeff Penman, managing director, Tungsten Properties said: “Our £50 million Revolving Credit Facility allows us to secure good quality development opportunities when they arise, while allowing our equity to be spread across a greater number of projects.
“Lutterworth is a market very well known to us which for decades has been starved of new small industrial buildings, therefore the demand is strong. With Fortwell’s RCF, we are able to invest in such places to create industrial workspace and enable job creation for those businesses looking to grow. The initial marketing for Lutterworth has been very well received with a substantial part of the scheme already under offer.”
