UK: NatWest and Virgin Money have provided a £105 million loan for PBSA scheme in Hammersmith, which is under development through a forward funding agreement between student accommodation provider Scape Living and Dominvs Group.
Situated close to Hammersmith Broadway station, the scheme at 181 Talgarth Road is near Imperial College London, University of Roehampton and Kings College London’s Strand Campus, alongside several local Higher Education Institutions.
Amenities will include workspace and meeting rooms, a cinema, communal kitchens, a gym, roof terrace and bike storage. The building is targeting completion in June 2025, ready for the start of the 2025/26 academic year in September. Scape will let 357 of the 713 student rooms under a nominations agreement with a London University at an affordable rate which is capped by the Mayor of London.
NatWest credit back-stopped the full amount and was also appointed debt coordinator and sought third-party liquidity pre-transaction close. Virgin Money was mandated due to its experience in the sector and confidence in the transaction, agreeing to provide £52.5 million.
DWF, CBRE and Gardiner & Theobald provided advice for the lenders, and Simmons & Simmons and Mayer Brown for Scape.
Harry Daws, investment director at Scape Living Plc, said: “Scape Hammersmith is a continuation of Scape’s journey to provide best-in-class student accommodation and will help to address the significant shortage of high-quality PBSA developments in London. We are thrilled to have partnered with NatWest to deliver this scheme as we continue to build out our significant pipeline of developments across the UK.”
Georgia Dunne, director of structured real estate finance at NatWest, said: “We are delighted to support Scape Living with their new student accommodation development in Hammersmith. This transaction is another example of how NatWest provides optimal funding solutions alongside our lending partners, delivers execution excellence, and further solidifies our role as a cornerstone real estate debt coordinator.”
In 2020, Scape entered into a £500 million joint venture with APG Asset Management to deliver PBSA and Living assets across the UK.
