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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Jon Robinson

Urban Splash fund strikes deal worth up to £40m with Barclays

A fund that owns over 300 properties across the UK has secured a deal with Barclays that could be worth up to £40m.

The Urban Splash Residential Fund (USR) has agreed an initial £20m debt facility with the bank with an additional £20m available.

Urban Splash launched the fund in June 2017 and has properties in Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Cambridge, Bradford and Bristol.

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The company said the deal will allow it to "accelerate its acquisition strategy to build an institutional-scale portfolio of design-led rental homes across the UK".

Over the last year, the fund has expanded its portfolio by more than 30%, acquiring 80 new homes from developers and institutional landlords such as Places for People, Oval Real Estate, and Javelin Block.

Urban Splash was founded in 1993 by Tom Bloxham and Jonathan Falkingham and is headquartered in Manchester.

In April, the company and Liverpool ONE developer Grosvenor launched a £10m partnership to focus on development acquisitions and help both companies to grow their portfolios.

In October last year, Urban Splash revealed it was to limit the number of construction projects it takes on because of the "unprecedented levels of uncertainty and the prospect of a lasting economic downturn".

The update was included in newly-filed documents with Companies House for its financial year to September 2021.

The results had been overdue to be filed and came after Urban Splash revealed its financial results for that period earlier in the month.

The company has not yet released its results for the 12 months to the end of September 2022.

Speaking of the deal, Manchester-based fund manager Akeel Malik said: "After five years of solid growth, we are delighted to have nurtured another positive relationship, securing this RCF with Barclays.

"The support of such a prominent financial institution helps create a solid foundation as we see attractive off-market opportunities to bolster our nationwide portfolio."

Jason Constable, head of real estate at Barclays Corporate Banking, added: "We are pleased to be supporting USR with their future growth aspirations through the provision of this facility.

"The RCF will allow the fund to move quickly on property acquisitions and further underlines our ongoing commitment to the UK housing sector."

Tom Hoar, assistant director in Deloitte’s real estate debt advisory team, said: "The team at USR has curated an enviable portfolio of distinctive, design led homes for rent and we are delighted to have helped secure this facility from Barclays to support the Fund's continued growth."

The USR has raised £150m from institutional and high net worth investors to date and owns and manages 307 homes.

GunnerCooke, Gorvins and Deloitte advised Urban Splash, while Barclays was represented by Osborne Clarke and JLL.

The deal for the USR also comes after Urban Splash's joint venture with Sekisui House UK - a subsidiary of the Japan-based Sekisui - and Homes England, collapsed into administration in May 2022 with the loss of 160 jobs.

BusinessLive reported in June last year that the joint venture owed creditors more than £8.3m and had an estimated total deficiency of £4.4m.

In the following month, Urban Splash announced a £43.5m refinancing deal with the global asset management business of Aviva plc.

Urban Splash also announced last year that the value of the Urban Splash Residential Fund more than tripled during its latest financial period as its profits spiked.

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