Private Equity Becomes The Lender Of Choice For London Development
Two major new London developments were backed by private equity firms this week.
South Street Asset Management said contracts have been exchanged with private equity investor Henderson Park to secure the funding and delivery of 101 Whitechapel High Street in east London, an office-led redevelopment scheme adjacent to Aldgate East underground station.
South Street will work in partnership with Henderson Park to secure full planning consent for the Foster + Partners-designed scheme and take forward the delivery of the development. EG pegged the cost of the scheme at £450M.
Proposed plans for the site include the retention of a four-storey Victorian façade, from which a 280K SF office and retail scheme will step back.
To the southwest, Cheyne Capital Management said it has provided a £103M senior loan to finance the acquisition and development of a residential-led mixed-use scheme in Vauxhall, London.
The nearly 280K SF site, named Graphite Square, is located within the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea Opportunity Area and will provide new homes, workspace and amenities for the area. Planning permission has been granted by Lambeth Council for 160 new one-to-three-bed private homes, 50 of which will be affordable, in addition to more than 80K SF of workspace and 400 SF of retail. The affordable housing units have already been sold and the office space has been pre-let on a 12-year lease.
The project is sponsored by Australian property developer Third.i, which has a track record creating large-scale residential, commercial and senior living projects throughout Australia. Graphite Square will be its second major development in London.
