Maslow Capital has provided a £136.8 million facility to Vita Group to refinance two completed residential towers at Manchester’s Circle Square development.
The financing is secured against the North and East Towers and will also support Vita’s acquisition of its joint venture partner’s interests in the properties, bringing both buildings under its full ownership.
Vita will use the facility as it continues the phased sale of 487 completed and tenanted apartments, together with 14 ground-floor commercial units.
The apartments are being sold fully furnished as income-producing investments, with rental income from the completed scheme servicing the debt while the sales programme continues.
COMPLETED RESIDENTIAL ASSETS
Circle Square occupies the former BBC site on Manchester’s Oxford Road corridor and combines residential accommodation with Grade A offices, retail and leisure space and public areas including Symphony Park.
John Sisk & Son delivered the North and East Towers, which reached practical completion in 2021. The development is close to the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, the city centre business district and Oxford Road station.
Matt Pigram, senior director, origination at Maslow Capital, says: “Circle Square is a completed, income-producing asset in one of Manchester’s strongest city-centre locations, with a unit sales programme that was already well progressed.
“The facility gives Vita the flexibility to refinance, take full ownership of the towers and continue executing its strategy for the assets, with rental income servicing the debt in the meantime.
“It is a clear example of how a facility can be structured around an operating asset rather than a construction programme.”
Daniel Murray, senior director, short-term finance at Maslow Capital, says: “Large completed residential schemes increasingly need funding that bridges the period between practical completion and the sale of the final units.
“That is exactly what our short-term finance offering is designed to do.
“Working with a sponsor we know well, on an asset of this scale and standing, meant we could deliver a substantial facility within the borrower’s timetable.”
Maslow has an existing relationship with Vita Group, having previously financed Select Properties’ Port Street and City Suites 2 schemes in Manchester.
Peter Shipley, finance director at Vita Group, says: “Bringing the North and East Towers into full Vita ownership was a natural opportunity for us given our long-standing history with Circle Square.
“These are high-quality, established assets, and our facility with Maslow gives us the flexibility to execute the next phase of our strategy while continuing to operate the buildings as successful, income-producing investments.
“Our established relationship with Maslow, and their understanding of both our business and the assets helped us deliver the transaction efficiently.”
