A TOTAL of 19 new homes – including six that will qualify as affordable homes – have been earmarked for development on the site of a former car breakdown and recovery depot in a thriving London borough.
Featherstone Homes Ltd will develop the units in Bermondsey within the London Borough of Southwark.
The £5.4m residential development project in Lynton Road will involve the demolition of the existing depot to make way for a new build, four storey apartment block building.
The scheme will include the creation of one, two and three bedroomed homes, as well as a ‘green’ roof terrace and play area for families with young children.
Rowan Stewart, Director at Featherstone Homes Ltd, said: “This scheme is an exciting one and one that we feel is a great opportunity for first-time buyers or young professionals to acquire modern housing on the doorstep to Central London.
“Bermondsey itself is a growing, thriving and vibrant area, close to Surrey Quays and Canada Water with great transport links. For us, it’s yet another exciting project that we’re involved in completing and brings some much-needed affordable housing to the area. The project will transform the site of the old car breakdown centre and is yet another scheme on our portfolio which makes a real positive impact on the local area.
“We are delighted with this project, which we feel strengthens our position as one of city’s leading, bespoke property developers.”
Shawbrook Bank, which has a track record of supporting established regional property developers with facilities ranging from £1m to £30m, is supporting the scheme with a £5.4m development finance loan. Overall gearing for the project stands at 80% loan to total costs (LTTC) and 65% ground development value (GDV).
Rowan added: “We have worked with Shawbrook several times now and on each occasion they have been a delight to work with. Despite having tight turnaround deadlines, they were able to ensure provision of funds quickly which meant the project could proceed straight to valuation, construction survey and legals at an early stage.
“Shawbrook is an extremely flexible, responsive and knowledgeable lender and one that we are looking forward to working with again.”
The site in Bermondsey is the latest project by the team behind Featherstone Homes that Shawbrook has supported in recent times, with the Bank having previously financed schemes in Southfields (£16m GDV consisting of 29 flats and two commercial units) and in Streatham (£12.6m GDV consisting of 30 flats and two commercial units).
Alastair Partridge, Relationship Director at Shawbrook Bank, said: “The team behind Featherstone Homes are rightly regarded as a key development finance client and we continue to build on our successful relationship with them through supporting their latest scheme in Bermondsey.
“We were able to meet their funding requirements despite a tight deadline which ensured completion took place in time to meet the maturity date of an option contract. We were able to do this quicker than normal thanks to the strong, existing understanding of the client through previous projects we’ve supported.
