The Jewellery Quarter is among Birmingham's most famous and in-demand areas for residential accommodation. Once you pay homage to the 'amenities' surrounding St. Paul's Church, it's not hard to see why.
After backing plans for The Goods Station, a proposed mixed-use scheme in the heart of the second city, with a £13m property loan back in July, we knew it wouldn't be long before we were back in Brum - and here we are.
We've provided specialist contractor ETME Group with a £3.48m development exit bridging finance loan to support the sale of 15 apartments situated within a converted Grade II-listed building formerly home to lathe and press manufacturer Taylor & Challen.
Based on Constitution Hill, the well-connected development consists of the converted workshop and a contemporary new-build block, featuring a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, duplex units and ground-floor commercial space. A number of the units have been designated as affordable housing.
The building itself has more than a century of Birmingham's renowned industrial heritage behind it. The surviving Grade II-listed works date from the early 20th century, making its recent transformation into modern homes a fitting example of the Jewellery Quarter's ability to give its industrial past a new lease of life.
Following the conversion and extension, the development is now valued at £5m. The deal took just under two months from initial enquiry through to final drawdown. Funding was led by relationship director Alan Coleman, who has worked with the borrower for seven years.
VJ Chopra, managing director at ETME Group, said: "We've known Alan for many years and have always enjoyed working with him. We were delighted with the hands-on, relationship-led approach he took to this deal and supporting us with the development exit finance. We knew we could trust him and STB to deliver, and we were not disappointed. The funding itself was made slightly more complicated due to the heritage and affordability aspects of the development. However, Alan's expert knowledge and ability to structure the deal to overcome these factors were excellent."
Alan said: "It's been a pleasure to help my long-time client once again, and I'm particularly thrilled to have helped with such an interesting asset in a popular spot of Birmingham. Heritage conversions of this nature don't come round every day, but we were able to make the deal work, and we can now look forward to what ETME Group will do next."
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