Financing will be used to develop five industrial units in Ashford, Kent
Blackfinch Property, a rapidly growing agile lender to the developer community, has completed a complex £7.4m development loan for Entralon, supported by Rainstone Money. The loan will fund the development of five industrial/warehouse units totalling 48,079sqft in Orbital Park, Ashford, Kent. With a gross development value (GDV) in excess of £10m, the loan will continue the revival of the local economy, targeting the in-demand and currently under-supplied industrial sector.
Entralon will transform the open scrubland, named Entralon Gate, currently with limited use or environmental benefits to produce much needed industrial/warehousing units. The development will be built to BREAAM Very Good standards* and will include electrical car charging points. Neighbouring occupiers to the development site include Screwfix, Toolstation, Barretts BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Kia and a Premier Inn.
Orbital Park, a mixed retail, trade counter and industrial/warehouse park is ideally located just one mile away from the M20 motorway and near the Ashford International train station, making it a strong industrial unit location, lying on an important trade corridor from the major transport hubs on the south coast.
Phil Downie, Investment Manager at Blackfinch Property, said: “We are very pleased to have completed on this latest financing to support Entralon. It’s great to partner up with a strong developer committed to building-out high-quality and much-needed industrial space in Ashford. As a lender, we’re unusual because we have an inhouse legal team and real-world development experience across mixed sectors, which positioned us well to handle the complexities of this case. There were a few challenges during the due diligence phase, including cost inflation and a change of contractor, so we were able to lean into our problem-solving expertise and restructure several times to ensure we reached completion. A great result for everyone involved in the relationship.
“The industrial sector is currently significantly undersupplied with increased migration of the retail sector to online. This will be our first industrial asset on our loan book, and we welcome the opportunity to do more.”
Dr Farid Zadeh Bagheri, CEO & Founder at Entralon added that “a number of macroeconomic factors such as the growth of e-commerce, Brexit, the global pandemic and disruption in supply chains are increasing the importance of the industrial real estate sector. I believe the shortage of small and medium size industrial units is obvious and will continue in years to come. Entralon as a developer is ready to do its part to tackle this problem and partnering with a reliable and professional lender such as Blackfinch will contribute to achieving the company’s goals."
Rahul Modasia from Rainstone Money added that it was “a great achievement to have overcome the difficulties on one of the most complex development deals I have been involved with. The importance of building relationships not only with the client, but with the contractors too is imperative. Our experience we have at Rainstone Money helped guide us in the right direction to secure the completion of this £7.4m deal.”
*BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is a sustainability assessment method used to masterplan projects, infrastructure and buildings.
