Property investor lands £64.5m office refinancing deal

Property investor CEG has landed a £64.5m loan from OakNorth to refinance its scheme across the UK.

Founded by Gerard Versteegh in 1989, CEG specialises in the residential, office, industrial and strategic land sectors. The group’s portfolio now covers 6m sq ft of land, at a valuation of around £800m.

The £64.5m loan from OakNorth will be used to refinance the East West scheme in Nottingham, along with other office-led sites in Birmingham, Manchester, Crewe, Warrington, Glasgow and two in Edinburgh.

Versteegh said: “Since our launch, CEG has been committed to providing workspaces that ensure colleagues are happy and productive, enabling customers to attract and retain the very best talent. Not only do we understand how people want to work and live their lives, but our experience also allows us to take a long-term view that enables us to make decisions that benefit both investors and customers.

“Working closely with Damien and the OakNorth team on this transaction was extremely positive. Their transparency and responsiveness throughout the entire process was extremely helpful and it was clear from our first meeting that they had a strong knowledge of the UK’s commercial real estate market across all seven of the site locations.”

Damien Hughes, senior director of property finance at OakNorth, added: “This deal presented an opportunity to refinance a core office portfolio with a best-in-class sponsor who continues to be highly active in the sector. Under Gerard’s stewardship, CEG has built up a deep knowledge and understanding of all the markets they transact in.

“With demand for high quality office spaces across the UK continuing to outstrip supply, driven by occupiers seeking the best quality, most sustainable, and best located sites, the CEG group is in a perfect position to capitalise on this tailwind.”