£30m Chrysalis fund flutters into life
THE £30m Chrysalis Fund earmarked for regeneration projects in Merseyside was launched at an event in Liverpool last night.
The fund, which will be managed by Igloo Regeneration, will provide senior and mezzanine loans to help kickstart various commercial property and regeneration projects across the city region over the next three years, although no more than £6m of the pot can be invested in any single project.
The cash for the fund comes from the North West’s share of JESSICA – the Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas. Support has also been provided by the European Investment Bank and the Homes & Communities Agency.
Jim Gill, chairman of the Chrysalis Fund’s board, said: “The Chrysalis Fund provides a great opportunity for us to kickstart some important development projects in the city region.
“The board is looking forward to making some early investments and, in the longer term, expanding the fund and broadening its investments scope so that Chrysalis can fulfil its potential to become a primary facilitator of growth for the area.”
The fund will be managed by the Igloo Consortium, which is made up of Igloo Regeneration Limited, GVA and RBC Capital Markets.
Iain Jenkinson, investment agent for the Chrysalis Fund, said: “The consortium is very pleased to be working with its public sector partners to manage the project investments and create a sustainable legacy fund following the first round of investments.
“The initial call for projects is now open and we look forward to working with the developers of eligible projects.”
The idea behind Chrysalis is for it to become a revolving fund, with profits being reinvested back in to help grow the pot available for regeneration projects. Money invested will sit alongside existing debt provided by mainstream banks and equity put in by project developers.
