Grosvenor is in talks to refinance the debt and put fresh equity into its flagship Liverpool One shopping scheme.
The Duke of Westminster’s property company has initiated talks with the four banks that hold the £500m debt facility used to finance the development – Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Barclays and Eurohypo.
The debt does not mature until 2012, but Grosvenor is looking to tap into the appetite of banks to lend against good-quality assets owned by solid companies.
It is also understood that the six investors that make up the Grosvenor Liverpool Fund which owns the scheme could put more equity into it to assist with the refinancing.
The first phase of Liverpool One, which opened in December 2008 in the Paradise Street area of Liverpool, was beset by construction problems, which led to the scheme costing £100m more than expected.
Last year, Grosvenor raised £20m of equity from investors in its £521m shopping centre fund in order to facilitate the refinancing of a £297m RBS debt facility, which had been close to breaching loan-to-value covenants.
None of the parties involved would comment.
