AWG Property has launched a new £30m fund, created a new finance arm and hired a top level residential team, specifically to target the Scottish residential property market.
The fund will be launched with an initial £20m from the Co-operative Bank and will increase to £30m with other backers said Tony Donnelly, managing director of the company, which is an arm of AWG.
Launched under the brand AWG Residential Finance, the new fund will provide 100% funding of residential projects for independent small and medium-sized developers.
Donnelly said the market for new-build three and four-bedroom homes remains fairly strong, particularly in parts of Aberdeen and Fife despite the market for newly-built flats in Glasgow and Edinburgh slowing.
Rather than become a big volume housebuilder, AWG is seeking to become a niche player in residential development, Donnelly said.
Edinburgh,-based AWG Property manages a property portfolio with a value on completion in excess of £500m, but so far has concentrated heavily on office and business park developments.
At the beginning of the year, AWG announced the creation of a £100m joint venture fund with private investment company WG Mitchell, which has now completed almost £70m worth of deals.
References: EGi News 03/11/05
