Westbrooke UK and Leumi UK agree a £33m refinancing for former Dunlop factory
Specialist real estate lender Leumi UK and alternative asset manager Westbrooke have agreed a £33 million refinancing package for Fort Dunlop, a mixed-use asset in Birmingham owned by EPISO3, advised by pan-European real estate investment manager Tristan Capital Partners.
The 375,000 sq ft property is on the site of the historic former headquarters of Dunlop Tyres, which was once the world’s largest factory.
It consists of 300,000 sq ft of office space, 36,000 sq ft of retail and leisure accommodation, and a 100-bedroom hotel.
Fort Dunlop, which has dominated the landscape of northeast Birmingham since its construction in 1920, is easily accessible and directly connected to the city’s centre. It has proved popular among occupiers owing to its location, flexible floor space, excellent in-house amenities, and more affordable rents compared to central Birmingham.
It marks the second deal between Leumi UK and real-estate manager Tristan Capital Partners, who previously agreed a deal to refinance £30 million for One Stratford Place, a landmark office asset in east London.
Gez O’Sullivan, Relationship Director at Leumi UK said: “It is fantastic to extend our relationship with Tristan Capital Partners, following our previous financing agreement for One Stratford Place. Tristan is an extremely knowledgeable investment manager with a strong track record in European real estate., Fort Dunlop is a well-located and appropriately amenities asset whose strong fundamentals have proved a compelling draw for tenants.”
Harry Newall at Westbrooke said: “This deal underlines the importance of private debt in offering sustainable financing options for experienced real estate investors such as Tristan Capital Partners. Whilst the regional office sector is currently out of favour with the capital markets, we believe there are still plenty of high-quality assets in this space such as Fort Dunlop. It has been a pleasure working with the team at Tristan and again with Leumi UK, who have demonstrated their extensive expertise in the office market.
