The international business of Federated Hermes has provided a £37.5m investment loan against award-winning Build to Rent development – The Green Rooms – in Salford’s MediaCityUK, owned by a fund managed by IP Investment Management.
“It has been a pleasure working with IPIM, AMRO and Auxilium as we look to expand our debt exposure to the residential sector. The strength of the product, platform and management team at The Green Rooms is a great fit for our ambitious long term deployment targets to fund sustainable commercial and residential real estate investments.”
Ben Patton, Head of Real Estate Debt, Federated Hermes
Amro Partners, which operates The Green Rooms under its Amro Living operational platform, and Auxilium Real Estate advised on the debt financing process. The loan represents a significant vote of confidence in the sector and the asset, which launched its lease-up process in 2020 and is fully occupied.
“We’re pleased to have advised on the refinancing of this landmark building which is already fully occupied despite launching in the middle of the pandemic. The Build to Rent sector has proved to be incredibly resilient over the last sixteen months and is rapidly becoming recognised among large institutional investors as a mainstream asset class.”
Raj Kotecha, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Amro Partners
The Green Rooms totals almost 150,000 sq ft of residential living and 4,000 sq ft of ground floor communal space. The BREEAM “Excellent” development includes 238 Build to Rent apartments in the heart of Salford’s vibrant cultural hub. Sitting alongside the Manchester Ship Canal, The Green Rooms is one minute from the BBC headquarters and MediaCityUK’s Tomorrow Building.
“We are delighted to have worked closely with a quality sponsor and operator to see this transaction through to completion. Hermes were both collaborative and supportive throughout the process. Being a key partner not only in the debt sourcing, but also in the structuring and execution of the loan, is fundamental to how Auxilium operate.”
Niall Brown, Co-Founder, Auxilium Real Estate
Voted by residents, The Green Rooms were awarded all six HomeViews awards earlier this month. This included the coveted Rating of Excellence – which is awarded to buildings that have achieved an overall rating of at least 4 out of 5 stars. In 2020, the project was also ranked within the UK’s Top 10 National and Regional Developments by HomeViews.
“We are honoured to have Federated Hermes select The Green Rooms @ MediaCityUK as their maiden real estate debt investment into the resilient UK Build to Rent sector. Their full support for the project speaks volumes about the asset’s quality and the strength of our management team.
“Amro have done a superb job managing the lease-up process during trying times as various Covid-related challenges emerged. We would like to recognise Federated Hermes’ and Auxilium’s hard work and pragmatism throughout the refinancing process which was essential to drive the financing to completion.”
Selina Williams, Executive Director and Head of Investment, IP Investment Management
