New lender provides £47m for Audley retirement village

Oaktree Capital Management-backed Silbury Finance has secured its first loan in the growing retirement village sector. The lender, launched in January to provide bespoke senior development finance in the residential, retirement and student housing sectors, has provided a £47m facility to a joint venture between retirement village developer Audley Group, Schroders Real Estate and lender Octopus Real Estate. The 26-month loan, alongside equity investment from Octopus and Audley, will enable the development of a new retirement village in Cobham, Surrey. The project, which will comprise 74 two-bedroom flats, alongside an Audley club with a pool, gym, restaurant and bar bistro, is the third of four planned developments by the jv. In total the jv will deliver some 500 flats with a gross development value of £400m. Gavin Eustace, founding partner of Silbury Finance, said: “This is a landmark transaction for Silbury as we target £500m of lending this year, in a sector where we have significant experience financing schemes. The UK retirement living space is one of our high-conviction calls due to its nascency and the associated reluctance of more traditional lenders and debt funds to underwrite mid-size development loans for experienced developers.” To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette