Manama: Bahrain-based Bank ABC has successfully arranged and closed a £250 million ($321m) senior residential development facility in London for a consortium of institutional and high net worth investors from the Gulf and Europe.
The international wholesale bank is the sole arranger, investment agent and security trustee for the facility that will be used to fund the redevelopment at Regent’s Crescent, a landmark prime residential scheme consisting of 67 apartments and nine mews houses in Marylebone, central London, on the edge of London’s Regent’s Park.
The bank’s managing director and chief executive Paul Jennings commented: “Bank ABC has played a key role in the project since it was first conceived, having funded the original site acquisition and then by arranging the senior development finance of £250m. I would like to express my gratitude to Faisal Alshowaikh, group head of real estate finance, and his team for providing the expertise and hard work to finalise this outstanding achievement.”
The senior financing includes participation from four other London-based banks.
In addition to this, the financing package also includes over £100m of subordinated mezzanine finance with Bank ABC playing the lead role in ensuring that the structure of funding was acceptable to the senior financiers.
Bank ABC’s group head of wholesale banking Jonathan Robinson said the transaction was one of the most significant Sharia-compliant residential development facilities financed in London.
The development works involve the demolition and reconstruction of the iconic John Nash designed Grade I listed Regent’s Crescent.
Once completed, the “best in class” luxury scheme is forecast to have a sales value in excess of £500m. The redevelopment works are scheduled to be completed in 2020.
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