HFF announces £350 million financing of Regent’s Crescent, London

HFF Real Estate Limited (HFF) announces the £350 million financing of Regent’s Crescent, a 76-unit marquee residential project in Marylebone, London.  Originally designed by famed Buckingham palace architect John Nash, Regent’s Crescent is the only Grade I-listed asset in the U.K. to have received approval for a complete reconstruction, a process which is underway and will provide the area with a fully restored piece of English history.

The HFF team worked on behalf of the borrower, a consortium of institutional and ultra-high-net-worth investors based in Europe and the Middle East.  Key principals of the borrower include Venture Capital Bank and Rassmal Investments.  The financing includes £250 million of senior debt, which was provided by a syndicate of five lenders based in the U.K. and the Middle East.  Additionally, £100 million of mezzanine capital was funded by various parties, domiciled in the U.S. and the Middle East.  The entire financing was structured as Sharia Compliant through multiple Commodity Murabaha agreements.

The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower was led by managing director Claudio Sgobba and director Andrew Hornblower.

“HFF is thrilled to have been involved with such a unique, historic transaction and looks forward to seeing Regent’s Crescent take its place as one of the truly special residential assets in London,” Sgobba said.

“We are thankful to have assisted the sponsorship in navigating a complex capitalisation with nine distinct capital providers, ultimately reaching a very successful outcome for all parties involved,” Hornblower added.

About Venture Capital Bank (VCBank)
Venture Capital Bank BSC was established in 2005 as a Bahrain-based wholesale Islamic investment bank regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain.  The firm has a strong shareholding base from across the GCC countries and invests across various asset classes in the GCC, MENA, Turkey, UK and USA.  VCBank’s primary focus is on venture capital and business development, private equity and selective real estate investment opportunities.

About Rassmal Investments
Rassmal Investments LLC is a Gulf-based private investment company that specialises in undertaking private equity, real estate and corporate development transactions in the Middle East and the United Kingdom.  The Dubai-registered group is owned by the Al Shawaf Family.

About HFF
HFF and its affiliates operate out of 26 offices and are a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the global commercial real estate industry.  HFF, together with its affiliates, offers clients a fully integrated capital markets platform including debt placement, investment advisory, equity placement, funds marketing, M&A and corporate advisory, loan sales and loan servicing.  HFF, HFF Real Estate Limited, HFF Securities L.P. and HFF Securities Limited are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF).  For more information, please visit hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter @HFF.