Cording secures £40 million debt facilities from Barclays for growing PRS portfolio
Cording Real Estate Group, a member of the Edmond de Rothschild Real Estate investment management platform, has secured debt facilities, totalling £40 million, from Barclays Bank for two of its private rented sector (PRS) residential developments.
The two facilities, which are for four-year terms, have been provided for Merlin Wharf, a 384-apartment development in Leicester which is due for completion in November 2020, and John Street, a 362-apartment development in Warrington which is due for completion in June 2021.
James Whidborne, head of UK residential and social impact fund management, said: “These are the first in a series of loans we are aiming to secure for our growing PRS development portfolio”.
Jessica Tomlinson, Head of Real Estate, London, at Barclays Corporate Banking, said: “We are delighted to be supporting Cording with a funding package allowing them to bring over 700 new homes to market in Warrington and Leicester. The Real Estate team at Barclays is committed to helping developers build more homes both for rent and for sale”.
Cording’s investment in the PRS sector is made principally through its £400 million Cording UK Residential Investment Fund. The fund was launched in August 2018 with equity commitments of more than £100 million from German institutional investors. Cording is expecting to raise an additional £150 million of equity commitments from Continental European institutional investors. Using leverage, the fund will have £400 million to create a diversified portfolio of PRS assets, delivering sustainable and stable distributions over a long-term holding period.
Using a unique and comprehensive research approach Cording focuses on the lower-to-mid end of the market and has identified regional cities and locations outside Central London where demand for rented accommodation is strong and set to grow and where supply is predominantly made up of older stock and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).