Locations
The London Real Estate Finance team has advised Puma Property Finance on a £33m facility to assist with the redevelopment of the six-storey Mountbatten House in Basingstoke, Hampshire.
The 1970s, Grade II listed, 150,000 sq ft development, cited as one of the most important modern listed buildings in the country, will be a modern workspace including both wellness and amenities offerings. The heritage-led redevelopment scheme involves the updating, repair and reuse of the building and gardens and is designed to achieve an EPC 'A' rating, BREEAM 'Outstanding', WELL Platinum and Wired Score Platinum certifications.
Relationship partner, Iain Thomas, led the Fieldfisher team on the real estate side of the deal alongside fellow real estate finance partner Christian Francis, who led on the banking side, assisted by associate Connie Chau. Both were supported by lawyers across the real estate and banking teams. Christina Cheriyan, senior associate in the construction team, provided input on construction issues.
Commenting on the deal, Iain Thomas said, "We are really pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Puma on this project. It's a particularly interesting building, which was way ahead of its time when it was built in the 1970s. The plans to breathe new life into the building are very much on point as far as the modern Environmental, Social Governance agenda is concerned.
He added, "We've been delighted with the way our relationship with Puma has evolved over recent years since we were appointed to their panel during the first lockdown. This was one of three concurrent or overlapping deals on which we represented Puma this year, all of which reached first drawdown within a few weeks of each other. We're very much looking forward to continuing to build the relationship – and to having a quiet celebration to mark the end of a busy summer!"