Newcastle property developers are to covert a historic city centre building into luxury apartments after securing a £1m funding package.
Indo Developments and Claremont Place Ltd have kickstarted the conversion of Grade II-listed Claremont House into 11 apartments with the help of the seven-figure finance deal from Lloyds Bank.
Based close to the RVI and Newcastle University’s School of Medical Education, the development is set to complete in March 2021.
The flats will be marketed to pre-registration medical students and local hospital staff, who can take advantage of their proximity to the city’s key medical hubs.
Founded in 2019, Indo Developments is run by director Vishal Jerath and specialises in residential conversions. Most recently, it project-managed two 27- and 46-bed apartment schemes in Newcastle city centre, and a development of four luxury apartments in the Jesmond area.
Now, with support from Lloyds Bank, Mr Jerath and the directors of Claremont Place are focusing on bringing the currently derelict Claremont House back to full use.
The project is creating around 50 jobs, with local subcontractors appointed based on their expertise in working on heritage properties.
Mr Jerath, director at Indo Developments, said: “My family’s business has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Lloyds Bank, so we knew we could rely on the team to provide the support and flexibility required to deliver this ambitious development.
“As Claremont House is a listed building, we needed to bring in specialist skills and expertise to protect and enhance its heritage, while creating modern, high-quality living spaces for the city’s medical professionals – which is especially important in a year when they have faced such pressures as a result of the pandemic.
“Lloyds’ backing is not only helping us to progress with this development at a challenging time for the industry, but means we can now start to scale our operations by tackling new, similar projects up and down the UK.”
Mike Gascoigne, relationship director for Lloyds Bank, said: “This development has enormous potential and benefits for the local economy. As well as providing much-needed accommodation for key workers, it is helping to regenerate a key brownfield site.
“We’ll remain by the side of businesses across the North East, helping to ensure they are best placed to capitalise on every opportunity for growth and expansion.”
