Property lender Leumi UK has arranged a £21.45m deal with Forma Real Estate Fund to finance a 136,000 sq ft grade A office asset in Liverpool city centre.
The funds will enable Forma to part finance the acquisition of 5 St Pauls Square and upgrade the asset.
Chris Stallard, relationship director at Leumi UK, said: “We’ve seen a marked increase in demand for premium office space over the past year with 91% of year-to-date take-up being of Grade A quality. Liverpool is a vibrant metropolis which contains a young and highly skilled workforce from its four universities.
“Therefore, it’s paramount that the city can meet the needs of its professional workforce with high-quality office space that achieves long-term sustainability goals. Leumi UK has long been guided by a ‘customer first’ principle and we hope this deal will deepen our relationship with Forma.”
Chris Taylor, UK CEO of Forma, added: “We continue to progress our strategy of investing in high quality offices in regional central business districts where active asset management strategies and inward investment into the physical real estate can drive out-performance.
“Liverpool is a promising city for repositioning existing assets to deliver best in class office space. With the development pipeline constrained by high build costs we are delighted to acquire 5 St Pauls where we can align our ESG investment plans with increasing tenant demand for best in class grade A stock in Liverpool’s city centre.”
