The SCR Jessica Fund, established in 2013, has made a £6.13 million commitment to regional developer, Network Space, to fund the development of five industrial units at Ashroyd Business Park in Barnsley. This is the largest funding commitment the Fund has made since its inception six years ago.
The loan will fund 109,000 sq ft of speculative development on Plots 4 and 5 at Ashroyd Business Park adjacent to the Dearne Valley Parkway, strategically located off Junction 36 of the M1. These five high quality units ranging from 10,900 to 52,500 sq ft will support a combination of logistics and industrial occupiers.
This will be the fund’s first commitment to Network Space, an established regional developer operating across the North of England, with the ambition to provide the best and most complete solutions for industrial workspaces.
Initially funded with European Regional Development Fund’s (ERDF) and Growing Places capital and then benefiting from significant capital investment by the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority, the Fund aims to provide capital for projects at competitive commercial lending rates where ‘traditional’ funding sources are currently proving difficult. Money from the repayment of loans is recycled to finance new projects. The Fund commits capital to regeneration opportunities with a focus on office and industrial or mixed-use developments, which meet the Fund’s targets on creation of new employment opportunities, remediation and creation of new floor space. The fund is managed by CBRE Investment Advisory, part of CBRE Capital Advisors.
Joe Bahsoon, Director, Investment Advisory, CBRE commented:
“We are delighted to be supporting this highly regarded regional developer and supporting the continued economic growth in Barnsley. The Fund is vital for bringing strategic development projects such as these to the fore and for facilitating economically beneficial development that would otherwise struggle to achieve adequate funding.”
James Muir, Chair of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board, said: “We’re pleased to see this additional development taking place at a key location in the Dearne Valley Parkway.
“The LEP Board has already invested into this area with more than £22 million being invested near the M1 junction 36. We are directly supporting businesses in the region and helping to unlock new employment sites, better connect residents to those employment sites and increase the flow of people, businesses and ideas.”
Network Space Development Director, Simon Peters, commented “We are very excited to be delivering our latest South Yorkshire employment scheme. The funding from SCR’s Jessica Fund makes it possible for us to offer this high-quality space available to let and to deliver the development on a speculative basis. The units will be ready for occupation in March 2020.”
