Monday 31st March 2008
Bank of Scotland Corporatehas provided a debt facility of over £100m to a Unit Trust sponsored by Tritax Securities 1 Ltd. to finance a major construction at Quorum Business Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Tritax, which specialises in Enterprise Zone (EZ) transactions, will use the money toward a £175m project to build Grade A office buildings on EZ land, along with its development partner Grantside. The 18 acre site will house eight separate buildings totalling almost half-a-million sq. ft. The model is similar to a Tritax development (also funded by Bank of Scotland Corporate) at Eurocentral, on the M8 east of Glasgow.
It is estimated that each building will take between nine and twelve months to complete, and with a phased approach completion of the first building is scheduled for March 2009, with the final building due to finish in February 2012.
Quorum will be an ideal location for businesses seeking prime office space. The site is only 4 miles from Newcastle city centre, in close proximity to Newcastle International Airport, Newcastle Central Station, and the A1.
Bank of Scotland Corporate has an established relationship with Tritax, and has specific expertise in the funding of EZ transactions.
Commenting on the deal, Bill Smillie, Area Director of Real Estate for Bank of Scotland Corporate, said:
"It is satisfying to have worked with Tritax on another transaction which will deliver Grade A office space in the North East of England. Tritax has an outstanding reputation in the development of EZ sites, and we look forward to this being a success for them and a stimulus for growth in the North East."
Tritax Partner Ian Ross said:
"This is a very important development for Newcastle and for the whole of the North East, providing a significant amount of prime quality office space. As usual, Bank of Scotland Corporate was able to deliver exactly what we needed, when we needed it, and we are now ready to get started on this new and exciting project."
Notes to Editors:
About Bank of Scotland Corporate
Bank of Scotland Corporate, part of HBOS plc, has a reputation for excellence in the provision of corporate finance, delivering innovative funding solutions across a range of markets. With experience across many areas of corporate finance, including specialist teams covering Joint Ventures, Integrated Finance, Structured Property Finance, Infrastructure Finance and Housing Finance, Bank of Scotland can draw on an expert pool of professionals with proven track records. Bank of Scotland provides funding to more Management Buy-Outs than any other bank in both the UK and Europe and is now recognised as the top UK arranger for PFI/PPP deals. Bank of Scotland Corporate employs around 9,000 employees. Total lending at June 2007 stood at £95.8 billion.
About Tritax
Tritax is one of the UK market leaders in originating, syndicating and managing commercial property investments for private equity. Tritax has a portfolio under management of c. £1.5bn together with 4 major development sites with a combined development value of c. £750m. Since inception, Tritax and its Directors have invested funds of over £2bn in property unit trusts, limited partnerships and syndicates involving over 100 office, hotel and industrial properties amounting to over 4.5m sq ft.
