Fortwell Capital provides £28m loan for Baltic Exchange revamp

Argo Real Estate and The Townsend Group have secured a £28.1m loan to redevelop the Baltic Exchange building at 38 St Mary Axe, EC3, in the City of London. The loan, provided by Fortwell Capital, will be used to revamp the 42,000 sq ft office building which sits adjacent to 30 St Mary Axe, EC3 – the Gherkin. The building’s occupiers and previous owners, the Baltic Exchange, a subsidiary of Singapore Exchange, will lease the second floor of the building on completion of the works. A BREEAM Outstanding certification is being aimed for, and developers hope it will run on a zero carbon basis operationally. On completion it is estimated the project will have an end value in the region of £80m. The refurb comes as part of a push from lender Fortwell to diversify its lending activities, focusing on value-add opportunities in prime locations. Nikos Yerolemou-Ennsgraber, director at Fortwell Capital, said: “Given its historical heritage, the Baltic Exchange represents an incredible opportunity to create a flagship London commercial property.  “The value-add sector forms one of Fortwell’s key lending strategies given its strong investor appetite and stable risk-adjusted returns, and we look forward to lending more within the sector.” To send feedback, e-mail alex.daniel@eg.co.uk or tweet @alexmdaniel or @EGPropertyNews