M&G finance prime residential property in London

M&G Investments is providing £517 million as finance to Lodha UK for the development of a high-profile prime residential property site at Number One, Grosvenor Square, in central London. The loan will be invested in funds managed by M&G.

The Grosvenor Square site is due to be completed in December 2019 with 48 residential units designed by international interior design firm Yabu Pushelberg. Lodha purchased the site in 2014 and Westminster council approved its complete redevelopment in 2015. The project is part of an overall redevelopment of the site, with the former US Embassy in Grosvenor Square to be redeveloped by hotel operator Rosewood.

M&G Investments director, real estate finance, Dan Riches, commented: “We have worked extremely closely with Lodha over the past 12 months to ensure delivery of the development of this historic site in central London. M&G’s direct origination model gives our institutional investors direct access to prime real estate such as No. 1 Grosvenor Square. Our unique ability to invest and hold large loans on the most complex of transactions has proven extremely attractive to borrowers and provides us with more opportunities to create value for our investors.”

Riches added that private debt investments are increasingly popular among institutional investors looking for higher returns than those currently available in more liquid markets.