£100m scheme to encourage conversion of commercial buildings into housing

Assetz Capital, the Manchester-based specialist lender, has launched a £100m Planning Assistance Loan product, aimed at supporting the conversion of commercial buildings into residential dwellings.

The new product is specifically designed to help experienced property developers acquire commercial buildings, with the intent of securing residential, PBSA, or PRS Planning Permission for onward redevelopment during the period of the loan.

There will also be an option to convert the facility into a new Refurbishment Loan on gaining successful and implementable planning permission.

The new scheme will allow Assetz Capital to become more involved in supporting the repurposing of under-utilised commercial spaces in city centres across the UK. The team has already supported a number of experienced developers over the past few years, having created more than 955 new beds, with gross debt of around £54m in conversions of offices to PBSA developments alone.

This latest product innovation follows a period of expansion for the specialist lender, with the announcement of a £200m expansion to its lending partnership with Aros Kapital.

Andrew Fraser, CCO at Assetz Capital, said: “Assetz Capital has been heavily involved in some fantastic repurposing schemes, such as turning old office or warehouse facilities into modern, vibrant, and much needed housing stock, with a core optic being in the student space, but not exclusively.

“There is vast amounts of opportunity to convert these underutilised commercial sites in our city centres, so we’re excited to be part of the solution to drive residential development over the coming years.”