In 2014 SPRUCE provided a c.£10m senior debt facility to Edinburgh Haymarket Developments Limited, an Interserve sponsored special purpose vehicle. The funding supported the delivery of the engineering works and land assimilation required to regenerate an underutilised site in west central Edinburgh.
THE BACKGROUND
The site is situated in close proximity to Edinburgh’s Haymarket train station (one of Edinburgh’s two main railway stations and recently the subject of a £25m refurbishment) and a tram interchange, and is approximately half a mile to the southwest of Princes Street, close to Edinburgh’s Financial Services District.
This project has strong regeneration credentials, including:
- Being located within one of the 13 most deprived local authority regions of Scotland, which were the key target areas for SPRUCE prior to the fund’s first closing at the end of 2015;
- The regeneration of a brownfield, significantly underutilised site;
- Considerable job creation during construction and thereafter; and
- Support to a large, high profile project which has significant Scottish Government backing.
Following similar transactions in 2012 and 2013, the project built on Amber and SPRUCE's existing profile as a key real estate lender in Scotland.
With the works successfully completed the facility has been repaid and is being utilised for recycling into other SPRUCE funded projects.
SDG supported
Facts
Brownfield land treated
1.7ha
Senior debt facility
£9.6m