Palmer Capital has bought the outstanding 50% of debt it did not already own in Finzels Reach, the £150m mixed-used development project in Bristol city centre.
Together with the 50% bought from Deutsche Postbank in August, the real estate fund and asset manager now owns 100% of the non-performing loans secured against the project.
Palmer Capital is now undertaking a project review with Cubex Land, a Bristol-based developer and Palmer Capital-backed company, to progress the development.
Finzels Reach is a 4.7-acre mixed-use regeneration project in the heart of Bristol’s business district and overlooking the city’s floating harbour towards Cabot Circus, which has planning consent for 400 flats, 300,000 sq ft of offices and 90,000 sq ft of retail.
The site currently contains 115,000 sq ft grade-A office Bridgewater House, which is 30% let to BDO and Barclays, and 195 flats in three buildings: Castle Wharf, Malt House and the Hop Store.
Palmer Capital intends to create a new destination neighbourhood with offices, restaurant and additional homes and ancillary uses.
It anticipates a phased delivery of the project with completion expected in mid-2016. The initial focus will be on a new marketing campaign for the 73 built but unsold flats, which will be launched in January and run with the leasing of the remaining available grade-A office space at Bridgewater House.
The group also intends to progress the development of the Finzels & Cask element of the project next year, which has consent for 32 waterside flats. The remaining seven plots then offer a mix of new build and redeveloped period buildings to be delivered over the course of the business plan in subsequent phases.
Alex Price, chief executive of Palmer Capital, said: “This transaction further demonstrates our ability to source and execute the acquisition of assets where the underlying property affords a compelling opportunity to create value through the adoption of a very proactive and hands-on approach to asset management. We believe that by having the confidence to take on development, letting and sales risk in Bristol at this early stage in the recovery cycle, we will be very well placed to capitalise on an acceleration of interest in the regions that we are now starting to see from institutional investors.
annabel.dixon@estatesgazette.com
