£3.5m finance deal supports sale of Birmingham flats

Secure Trust Bank has provided development exit finance to city-based ETME Group to support the sale of 15 apartments at a grade two listed former Jewellery Quarter lathe and press works.

The apartments form part of a development on Constitution Hill, comprising the conversion of a Grade two-listed former industrial building and a contemporary new-build block. The historic building was formerly home to manufacturer Taylor & Challen.

The wider development includes a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, duplex units and ground-floor commercial space, with a number of homes designated as affordable housing.

Following the conversion and extension, the development is valued at £5m.

The finance was arranged by Alan Coleman, relationship director at Secure Trust Bank, who has worked with ETME Group for seven years.

“I’m particularly thrilled to have helped with such an interesting asset in a popular spot of Birmingham,” said Coleman.

“Heritage conversions of this nature don’t come round every day, but we were able to make the deal work, and we can now look forward to what ETME Group will do next.”

Secure Trust Bank said the deal took just under two months from initial enquiry to final drawdown.

VJ Chopra, managing director at ETME Group, added: “We’ve known Alan for many years and have always enjoyed working with him. We were delighted with the hands-on, relationship-led approach he took to this deal and supporting us with the development exit finance.

“The funding itself was made slightly more complicated due to the heritage and affordability aspects of the development. However, Alan’s expert knowledge and ability to structure the deal to overcome these factors were excellent.”