Pension-to-peer platform funds serviced offices expansion
A YORK pension fund has invested £1.2m from its “pension-to-peer” lending platform in serviced offices in Leeds and London.
Grosvenor Financial Consultants has agreed funding for Prospect Property Group’s subsidiary Prospect Business Centres, which currently has two centres in Leeds and three in London. It is planning to add two more centres in the next year to meet growing demand and rising rents in London’s high-end serviced office market.
Mark Pepper, founder of Grosvenor, said: “We know Prospect Property Group well. Their strong business model and entrepreneurialism – not to mention the fact that they are a Yorkshire business too – all contribute to their being an ideal candidate for our pension-to-peer loans. The business centres are performing really well, and our loans support other capital investment to provide working capital for the group’s continued expansion.”
The pension-to-peer lending platform enables private and company pension pots to be lent commercially against secured investments, typically commercial property developments that require funding for building work.
He added: “As we continue to amass a successful track record of property-based loans, which tend to average returns of more than 9% a year for our clients, the pension-to-peer investment concept becomes ever more attractive.”
Charles Cudworth, managing director of PBC, said: “Loan capital from Grosvenor has been an essential component of our balanced portfolio of funding, to support our working and expansion capital across our London centres.
“By relying on a combination of funding from our own reserves, as well as bank and the Grosvenor funding, we are able to balance our funding sources and reduce our exposure to changes in the markets.”
Prospect’s other Yorkshire interests include a £12m eco-friendly office scheme development at Robin Hood Airport International Business Park, a £12m lodge scheme in North Yorkshire, and a 98-unit retirement spa village with dementia facilities.
