Falcon Park expansion backed with £42m loan deal

Plans to expand a fully-let Loughborough industrial estate with five speculative units have been boosted with a fresh finance package, announced today by wealth fund Investec.

The group has provided a £42.3 million loan to a joint venture between Aureon and Arax Properties, ahead of a planned expansion of its Falcon Park site, secured against the existing properties on the 635,000 sq ft park.

Earlier this year, planning permission was granted for a 108,000 sq ft expansion of Falcon Park, which will see units between 16,605 sq ft and 66,350 sq ft built at the Falcon Park North expansion. A further expansion of smaller office units on an adjacent site, known as Falcon Park South, also gained approval under the same application.

Tom Griffiths, part of the real estate team at Investec, said: “This transaction reflects a focus on delivering financing that supports both immediate priorities and longer-term plans. By refinancing the stabilised estate while funding new development within the park, Investec has provided Aureon Partners and Arax with a structure that offers near-term certainty and the flexibility to pursue value creation over time.”

Five units will be built as part of the Falcon Park North expansion. Credit: Aureon Partners

Aureon Partners – the spin-off of the real estate division of Quilvest Capital Partners – and Arax’s business plan is focused on sustaining the estate’s contracted income while expanding operations to meet “continued demand” for well-connected Midlands industrial accommodation.

Andreas Rentsch, principle at Aureon Partners, added: “We are delighted to partner with Investec on our investment in Falcon Business Park. Their understanding of the asset and the local market was combined with a highly responsive and solutions focused approach. We look forward to delivering the next phase of our development at Falcon Park North which with them.”