Clearbell Capital has secured £25m of senior financing from Starz Real Estate to facilitate the refinancing and letting of its life sciences scheme at 85 Gray’s Inn Road in London.
Originally built in 1992, the newly refurbished building offers circa 30,000 sq ft of grade A space suitable for office and both dry and wet laboratories.
The BREEAM Excellent-rated scheme, which is located near King’s Cross train station, includes a brand new reception, a large secure inner courtyard for deliveries, a 1,100 sq ft landscaped roof terrace and new end-of-trip facilities across five floors.
Alice Murray, head of asset management and sustainability at Clearbell, said: “The life sciences sector is one of the most exciting growth areas in the UK, but there is still a chronic undersupply of flexible lab space to support this demand. That’s why we saw the huge potential of 85 Gray’s Inn Road to bring more high-quality lab and office space to London’s Knowledge Quarter. With the support of funding from Starz we are able to make this a reality, and we are looking forward to seeing the innovations that now come out of the businesses based here.”
Grégoire Millet, director at Starz Real Estate, added: “We are thrilled to have partnered on this refinancing transaction with Clearbell Capital, which is a highly experienced and knowledgeable investor within the London property market. The subject property benefits from robust real estate fundamentals and Clearbell have done an outstanding job refurbishing it to allow for significant value creation under life sciences use.”
Clearbell Capital was advised by Brotherton, Creative Places, Travers Smith, Knight Frank and Hollis. Starz was advised by Taylor Wessing, Fladgate and Appleby on the financing. Cushman & Wakefield provided valuation services.
