CBRE’s Real Estate Finance (REF) and UK regional business units have launched a new service to enhance client access to advice on the financing of properties and structuring.
The new initiative has been set up in response to growing demand from owners of regionally based assets for financing advice specifically tailored to key property markets outside of London.
CBRE has found that investors want to know more about regional investment opportunities and how to appropriately structure transactions to enable them to access these markets as real estate owners are also continuing to seek access to capital.
The services that will be introduced include:
· Debt Advisory – assisting all property owners in accessing acquisition finance, mezzanine finance and bank support for refinancing and bridge loans;
· Equity Placement– capital raising for joint ventures, funds and financial modelling;
· Refinancing & Restructuring – utilising REF’s ability to access capital – whether debt or equity; and
· Recovery – REF’s bank advisory capabilities (including LPA in England only)
The team will incorporate key figures from CBRE’s regional office network and REF, initially in the Birmingham, Manchester and Scottish offices, with further regional representation to follow.
Mike Stephens, senior director and head of CBRE’s valuation team in Birmingham, said: “In past cycles, flows of capital to the regions have been restored naturally, but this recovery has seen unprecedented levels of congestion in the debt and equity markets. Birmingham is a key regional real estate hub in the UK and our ability to extend these important services to owners and potential investors here is an exciting development for our team.”
Doug Smith, who is heading up the initiative and overseeing the co-ordination and service delivery for the new teams nationally, added: “The need for capital and advice on how to access this in the UK’s regional property markets is high at the moment. At CBRE, we want to be offering best-in-class finance in the regions, offering in Birmingham what we have been doing successfully for clients in London for some time. There is huge demand for this kind of expertise and we are already working on a number of mandates together and look forward to growing this collaborative platform over the remainder of the year and into the future.”