Bluemantle secures £85m refinancing

Permalink: Bluemantle secures £85m refinancing
by Lin Freestone

Bluemantle, an independent property investment, development and asset management group, has secured an £85m refinancing package. The company has refinanced with three major banks, Rothschilds, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC.

In the context of the credit crunch and the related property downturn, it is considered that the refinancing is a great vote of confidence in the business. It also indicates that, despite these being difficult times, the property finance markets are still open for the right sort of business.

Based in Alderley Edge, Bluemantle has evolved from a 20-year-old family run industrial property company, into a co-investing fund management business looking after over £150m of investment property and a development pipeline of £500m for over 20 joint venture partners and equity investors.

The existing investment portfolio is spread over 50 properties across all sectors in the north west and brings in an annual rental income from 270 tenants of almost £9m.

Earlier this year, Bluemantle teamed up with Kilmartin, a Scottish development and investor company, to buy Preston’s Miller Arcade. They paid £8.6m for the 53,000 sq ft retail arcade at Fishergate, in a deal with Preston-based developer Maple Grove.

The company is also a partner with Manchester-based ASK on the landmark 14-acre Church Wharf development in Bolton.