The Sheffield City Region JESSICA Fund (“SCR JESSICA”), has provided CTP Wakefield Limited, the urban regeneration specialists, part owned by Development Securities PLC, with a £3.75 million mezzanine loan to part fund the development of 3 St Paul’s Place.
The loan will support the delivery of the first speculative office building to be developed in Sheffield since the recession. The 10-storey 3 St Paul’s Place, the final part of the pioneering £130 million Heart of the City project, comprises 80,000 sq ft of Grade A office space in Sheffield’s Central Business District.
Andrew Antoniades, Director of CBRE Capital Advisors, the Fund’s investment advisor, commented:
“This marks an important moment in the funding of regional developments, where schemes that are crucial to the local economy can be realized. CTP’s new, strategic development fits the investment criteria of the loan perfectly. It will provide much needed Grade A office space in the Sheffield Central Business District and will make a significant contribution to the success of the Sheffield City Region economy. We are delighted to have been able to originate and structure this £3.75 million mezzanine loan on behalf of SCR JESSICA.”
James Newman, Chairman of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), added:
“3 St Paul’s Place marks an important step in the continuing transformation of Sheffield City Centre and its development as a key hub for UK businesses. This investment addresses a key part of our strategy, which highlights the need for more top quality office space to attract and grow the business and professional service sector.
“The LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan emphasises the potential and importance of the business and professional services sector to long term economic growth and the creation of high value jobs in the Sheffield City Region.
“The Sheffield City Region JESSICA fund has been designed by the LEP to unlock major construction projects like 3 St Paul’s Place and we continue to look for investment opportunities – I strongly urge developers to approach our Fund Managers, CBRE, to talk about how we can help to unlock projects.”
David Topham, director of developers CTP, commented:
“An innovative funding package has been secured to deliver 3 St Paul’s Place, for which we, as developers, are grateful. The combination of an ERDF grant, senior debt funding from Barclays a £3.75 million Mezzanine debt facility from the SCR JESSICA Fund and proactive support from Sheffield City Council has enabled us to start work on the first speculative office building in Sheffield since the recession.
“3 St Paul’s Place is the final jigsaw in the tremendously successful Heart of the City project. We are extremely confident that the quality of 3 St Paul’s Place, combined with its location, will ensure that occupiers for the building are swiftly found and we expect its completion will add confidence to the growing and vibrant city centre of Sheffield.”
Councillor Leigh Bramall, Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Development at Sheffield City Council, added:
“JESSICA funds are established by the European Union and SCR JESSICA is one of only a handful currently operational in the UK. We worked hard to ensure it was set up in a way that would meet the needs of our local economy, and are therefore delighted that it has played an intrinsic part in ensuring 3 St Paul’s Place is developed. The fund is key to stimulating growth in the property development sector in our region, which in turn will ensure that Sheffield City becomes the preferred UK home for many national and international businesses.”
The SCR JESSICA Fund, which is made up of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Growing Places capital, aims to provide funding for projects at competitive commercial rates where funding might otherwise prove challenging in the current markets. The Fund will commit capital to regeneration opportunities with a focus on office and industrial developments which meet the ERDF’s targets on employment, remediation and floorspace outputs. The Fund is managed by CBRE Capital Advisors.
