£19 million funding package secured for city centre residential conversion

The Challenge

A client required a funding solution to facilitate the conversion of an existing city centre office building in Leeds into a build-to-sell 98-apartment residential scheme. With a projected Gross Development Value of £22 million, the build-to-sell project needed a funding partner who could support both the site acquisition and a complex conversion programme, structured to perform in a demanding development finance market.

Our Approach

Delivering a deal of this size and complexity required close coordination across the full range of BTG’s service lines with the funding structure needing to work for the acquisition phase as well as supporting a complex development acquisition. Working closely with valuers, specialist development funders, legal advisers and the contractor team, we built a funding model robust enough to meet the practical demands of a live conversion whilst navigating today's tighter lending conditions.

We structured the funding across two facilities: an initial £4 million acquisition loan to secure the site, followed by a £15 million development facility to finance the conversion works and delivery programme.

The Outcome

We successfully secured the £19 million funding package, enabling delivery of 98 residential apartments in Leeds city centre. The transaction reinforces BTG's capabilities in development finance and commercial-to-residential conversion - a significant growing area of opportunity across UK city centres.