UK: A joint venture between Melt Homes and Espalier Ventures is set to build a 175-key aparthotel near The Oval cricket ground in south London.
The JV partners have received a £3.5 million property development facility from OakNorth Bank to help fund the project, which will involve the acquisition of a mixed-use property at 68‐86 Clapham Road, and in its place, develop the aparthotel subject to receiving planning permission.
The site is located within walking distance of several Zone 1 underground stations – Oval, Stockwell and Vauxhall – as well as the South Western railway line, providing services to Clapham Junction, Waterloo and Guildford
Formed in 2002, Melt Homes is a property development and investment group which over the last 17 years has built over 100 properties in London, Gloucestershire and Kent, and accumulated a portfolio of more than 50 residential and commercial properties.
Espalier Ventures is a private family investment office with a growing portfolio of businesses and investments in international higher education, property, social impact and leisure.
Evan Maindonald, director at Melt Homes, said: “We are very excited about this project – the site is an excellent location and has so much potential, especially given how popular the area is with tourists and cricket fans. Whenever there is a need to submit planning permission, speed is of the essence, which is why we felt OakNorth Bank would be the right partner for this transaction. Hemesh and the team have a thorough understanding of the market, as well as a wealth of experience working with joint venture structures, so were able to design a facility that met our needs in the timeframe we needed it.”
Rick Gibbs of Espalier Ventures added: “We are delighted to be involved in this deal with Melt and OakNorth. It is our fifth deal in the last six months and is a good fit for us, given that we are looking to increase our exposure to real estate investment with a particular focus on aparthotel, co-living and selected areas of prime central London.”</p
