OakNorth Bank has given a £16.5m loan to property developer Mumbles Group to finance five petrol station sites and convenience stores.
Berkshire-based Mumbles will acquire and develop sites in Newquay and Guildford, each of which will have a Co-op store. The OakNorth facility will also allow the company to release equity from three sites in Berkshire and Devon.
Eamonn O’Rourke, director of property finance at OakNorth, said: “While high street retail has been one of the most heavily impacted sectors due to Covid-19, convenience store retailers have been much more resilient, capitalising on the fact that shoppers want to stay closer to home and avoid larger, busier stores.”
Mumbles focuses on developing roadside sites for new petrol stations. Current occupiers include BP, Co-op, Marks & Spencer, and Sainsbury’s.
Dominic David, Mumbles’ managing director, said: “Forecourts are an important part of the wider convenience sector, and have played a vital role throughout the pandemic, providing hundreds of thousands of people with employment and a local food and supplies source.”
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