Real estate funding specialist ASK Partners, “ASK,” and OakNorth Bank, the UK bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, have provided a combined development facility of £23.6m secured against a c.10,000 sq ft of prime freehold residential property in St John’s Wood, London.
The loan will be used by client, Benjamin Goldkorn, an experienced property developer and founder of restaurants Ichibuns and Endo at the Rotunda, to redevelop two properties into seven apartments and two duplexes, totalling c.18,000 sq ft. The properties are being developed to a prime specification. Pre-sales have already been agreed on three of the units.
The properties are situated on Hamilton Terrace, a prestigious residential street in St John’s Wood, an exceptionally well-regarded, residential area of North West London famous for Lord’s cricket ground. It has a high-street with local shops, restaurants and bars and is well-served by the Jubilee line at St John’s Wood and the Bakerloo line at Maida Vale. Surrounding properties on this wide, tree-lined road are typically detached or semi-detached grand villas, set back from the road and this development will retain its original grand Georgian villa façade. Access to the apartments will be via a communal core at lower basement level which will include 9 car parking spaces, accessible by a car lift. Other features include a gym, cycle store, concierge services and media/storage rooms (available as an optional add-on).
Units are available for pre-sale now through Savills, for completion at the end of 2022. Prices start at £3m.
Developer, Benjamin Goldkorn said: “We are very excited to be bringing this scheme to the market. Focusing on quality and space, with an array of amenities usually associated with a large development, but set behind the private façade of a Georgian villa in a serene neighbourhood setting. With a number of pre-sales already agreed, we are expecting demand to be high.”
Commenting on the transaction, Hemesh Patel, Property Finance Director at OakNorth Bank, said: “We were delighted to assist with financing this development given the client’s strong track record and the quality of the proposed scheme. We take pride in our ability and expertise to successfully fund and support these types of projects and it has been a pleasure to work with ASK on another deal.”
Daniel Austin, CEO of ASK Partners, said: “This is an exceptionally well-located and impressive scheme that we were very pleased to help fund. ASK has worked with the borrower before on another successful central London project and we were delighted to work with them again. I believe there will be significant interest in this development given its prime location and the well-planned design and finish of the scheme.”
