Property developer secures £100m debt facility to upgrade industrial portfolio

Manchester developer MCR Property Group has announced a £100m debt facility to buy, refurbish and expand six key multi-let commercial developments.

The funding deal is with ICG Real Estate and is secured against a highly versatile portfolio of 10 assets involving more than one million sq ft of commercial property, which is mostly industrial/warehousing with the balance made up of residential and flexible office space.

Most of the properties are spread around the country, including Avonmouth, Swindon, Sheffield, Exeter, Middleton and Bridlington.

Work will involve refurbishing large industrial premises and splitting them up into a series of smaller units where necessary.

MCR said smaller premises in these areas are in high demand, and so are attractive to MCR because they result in rental assets with higher yields and more stable income.

Martin Wheeler, co-head of ICG Real Estate, said: “This investment is in line with our strategy of funding properties or portfolios with value add potential, especially where underpinned by an existing cash flow and/or in supply-constrained sectors such as industrial or residential.

“We are pleased to be extending our existing valued partnership with MCR Property Group, who bring a long track record of identifying and realising such opportunities in both commercial and residential properties.”

Aneel Mussarat, founder and CEO of MCR Property Group, said: “This facility is central to our core strategy of securing mid-market commercial opportunities with strong long term income potential and potential mixed used development.

“MCR has compiled a high quality portfolio of business space assets. We look forward to continuing to demonstrate our commercial edge to our partners, ICG Real Estate.”