James Taylor Homes Group and Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) have secured a £24m loan from Close Brothers Property Finance for the redevelopment of the headquarters of the Blind Veterans UK charity in Ovingdean, East Sussex.
The Grade II listed training and rehabilitation centre was constructed in the 1930s as the first purpose-built rehabilitation centre for vision-impaired ex-servicemen and women. It was designed to resemble a plane from the air, so it was visible to the RAF pilots flying overhead.
In 2021, Blind Veterans UK announced its intention to move to a more modern and suitable facility in Rustington.
The listed building will be sensitively renovated to create 64 spacious two- and three-bedroom apartments. The 20m indoor swimming pool will be retained and the on-site amenity provision will also include a gym and communal cinema room.
A number of the building’s original features will also be retained, such as the Braille handrail on the main staircase.
Emil Sohrab, CEO of James Taylor Homes Group, said: “These development opportunities do not come up very often and as soon as I saw the building I could see its incredible potential. While the redesign was not without its challenges, the apartments will be very spacious, averaging 1,800 sq ft, with fantastic facilities and the beach on your doorstep.
“This kind of building demands the very best in terms of restoration and we wanted to make sure that there were no delays once planning was secured, which is why we came to Close Brothers. They have always provided the very best service – making quick decisions and always delivering, which is exactly what you need when developing these high-profile schemes.”
Daniel Joyce, deputy managing director at Close Brothers Property Finance, added: “James Taylor Homes Group and the Housing Growth Partnership are the perfect partners to be entrusted to sensitively breathe new life into this iconic and historical building. We have worked with Emil and the team at the James Taylor Homes Group for over 10 years, seeing the business flourish and grow during that time, and are very proud to have been able to support them on that journey.
“This is a unique and very exciting site – I’m not surprised to see that they already have a queue of prospective buyers. There will be nothing else like this on the market in that area.”
