FUNDING
NEW FUND FILLS A GAP
Support - ( left to right ) Chris Dixon ( FW Capital ), Helen Golightly ( North-East LEP ), Jo Whitfield ( FW Capital ), Tony Cullen ( FW Capital ) and Lewis Blakelock ( FW Capital ).
£ 35m commercial property fund to support North-East developers
Commercial property development across the North-East is set to increase thanks to a new £ 35m fund .
The North-East Commercial Property Investment Fund is managed by FW Capital and backed by the North-East Local Enterprise Partnership ( LEP ).
The fund addresses a gap in the market and will drive economic growth and create new jobs in the North-East LEP area .
Providing loans of up to £ 7m , the fund can support speculative and non-speculative developments for new or refurbished commercial projects . This includes industrial units , distribution facilities or office schemes located in the seven authority areas : Sunderland , County Durham , Northumberland , Gateshead , Newcastle , North Tyneside and South Tyneside .
Repayments will be reinvested in new schemes , creating a total investment of £ 119m into commercial property in 15 years . It aims to create 5,600 jobs and develop
140,000 sq m of commercial space .
FW Capital North-East fund director Joanne Whitfield said : “ We are delighted to work with the North-East LEP to launch the North-East Commercial Property Investment Fund which will support a wide range of commercial property operators .
“ Developers often find it difficult to access the finance they need to bring forward projects , particularly if there are no pre-lets in place .
“ The new fund supports speculative developments to help overcome these challenges and answers a critical need to
Delighted – Helen Golightly ( North-East LEP ) and Jo Whitfield ( FW CAPITAL ). improve the quality of the real estate stock in our region .
“ The cost-value-risk equation continues to inhibit activity at a time when the pace of change is accelerating .
“ We believe the new fund can play a central role in solving this problem and help our region compete for inward investment nationally and internationally .”
Helen Golightly OBE , chief executive at the North-East LEP , added : “ Job creation and the growth of key sectors in the North- East are being held back by the market not delivering sufficient high-quality business premises .
“ There is a severe undersupply of Grade A commercial space which is limiting some types of inward investment or current regional businesses to scale to the next level .
“ The North-East Commercial Property Investment Fund will finance property and regeneration projects throughout the North- East LEP area in line with the North East Strategic Economic Plan objectives .
“ It backs high-quality developments and supports developers to build commercial properties needed to secure business investment in the region .”
To find out more about the new fund please visit www . fwcapital . co . uk or email info @ fwcapital . co . uk .
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