Owner of Docklands resi tower scheme sources £320m development loan

City Pride Limited, a vehicle which invests in real estate on behalf of overseas investors, has sourced £320 million of development finance to fund the construction of its Landmark Pinnacle residential tower in London’s Docklands.

The finance is understood to have been underwritten by a single foreign lender to fund the construction of the 75-storey apartment scheme.

Landmark Pinnacle, which has been designed by Squire and Partners, will comprise 752 private residential apartments and 162 serviced apartments on the site of the former City Pride pub on London’s Isle of Dogs, close to the Docklands business district.

Chalegrove Properties is developing the scheme on behalf of City Pride Limited. Chalegrove was established in 1989 with the aim of developing luxury London residential schemes. The firm is located between Knightsbridge and Canary Wharf.

The firm has developed other residential schemes in the area including the Landmark apartment scheme in Canary Wharf, featuring two towers of 45 and 30 storeys containing 804 apartments, which completed in 2010. It also developed Canary Central which contains 542 apartments and completed in 2005.

Chalegrove received planning consent from Tower Hamlets for the Landmark Pinnacle scheme in 2013. According to a 2013 BBC article, planning permission for a residential tower and hotel on the site was originally granted in 2009. The company which submitted the plans, Glenkerrin, went into administration and the site was sold in 2011.

Jersey-based JTC Group provided structuring and financial administration services in the financing deal. Law firm Taylor Wessing acted for City Pride on the facility agreement.

“The prime London real estate market has been in the news for the wrong reasons following the Brexit vote, but this transaction is evidence that the fundamentals for the right assets remain strong and there are still good deals to be done. We are delighted to have supported our client, City Pride, in achieving this result at a time of market volatility and look forward to supporting them throughout the next phases of the project,” said Sarah Clark, group director at JTC.

Paul Lawrence, International Head of Real Estate at Taylor Wessing, said: “This transaction is proof that the market for London assets is still strong and that post Brexit and with it the accompanying economic uncertainty, there is still appetite if the right deal is to be had on the right asset.”