Client: London based property company
Banks Long Lead: Tim Bradford
Brief: Over a number of years, Banks Long & Co have been instructed to identify new investment opportunities for a London based property company. The requirement of this company is for long income, secure property investments between £1m and £10m.
Acquisitions include properties let to a PLC Bank in excess of 30 years unexpired, a supermarket let to one of the top four PLC food stores for a lease term in excess of 60 years, and other assets in alternative/specialist sectors of the property market.
Banks Long & Co Solution: Whilst appreciating that the client was receiving a poor return from other forms of investment outside of commercial property, Banks Long & Co utilised its close relationship with the client to fulfil a very strict investment selection criteria.
After turning down a number of good quality opportunities which did not meet the criteria, the firm recommended the acquisition of the new Premier Inn hotel currently under construction in St Davids, Pembrokeshire, through a forward funding purchasing vehicle.
Results: Banks Long & Co’s specialism in financing property investments through a wide variety of different vehicles, as well as the firm’s experience with a number of forward funding transactions, ensured the negotiation of the purchase of the new Premier Inn hotel.
Working closely with the site owner and property developer - who was not in a position to finance the project themselves - Banks Long & Co provided a detailed set of Heads of Terms, which set out the mechanics for the forward funding route. This, in itself, brings added value benefits to the funder/purchaser and provides the developer with a guaranteed exit upon the successful completion of the development.
Tight timescales were met due to the requirements of the Agreement for Lease with Premier Inn, and even through the Covid restrictions, the development started in late 2020 and is due for completion in Q3 2021.
