M&G provides £153m whole loan for Liberty retail

M&G Investments has provided a £140m, five-year refinancing facility to Cosgrave Property Group for The Liberty Shopping Centre in Romford, Essex.

M&G is also providing an extra £13m for the partial redevelopment of the centre.

“The entire whole loan will be invested and held by funds managed by M&G,” said Dan Riches, director of real estate finance at M&G.

“Institutional investors are interested in real estate debt as an attractive alternative to bonds as it offers a good relative value for secured risk.”

The Liberty Shopping Centre contains 104 stores occupied by tenants such as BHS, Topshop, H&M, Next and Boots. It attracts around 20 million shoppers each year.

“The shopping centre is a prime retail pitch and has attracted leading tenants who provide stable income,” said Riches.

“The active management of the centre and potential partial redevelopment will enable it to continue attracting leading retailers with strong leases.”

Cosgrave Property Group is an Ireland-based residential and commercial real estate developer established in 1979. It is owned and operated by the brothers Joseph, Michael and Peter Cosgrave.

“We are pleased to complete this deal with M&G who takes a similarly long-term view to us,” said Peter Cosgrave.

“This refinancing puts the team on a firm footing to partially redevelop the shopping centre in order to strengthen its appeal to local shoppers.”