- The capital from OakNorth Bank will enable the borrower to complete the construction of Beulah Vista Caring Home, which would have otherwise been delayed due to COVID-19;
- The project is being led by a highly-experienced team which also operates another care home – The Chestnut Lodge Home in Tonbridge;
- Recent research from Knight Frank [1], highlighted the decline in care home beds since 2010 and the need for new developments to keep up with demand;
- London Belgravia Specialist Finance facilitated the introduction.
OakNorth Bank – the UK bank powered by OakNorth – has completed a £4.4m Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) loan to complete the development of Beulah Vista Caring Home, a 60-bed purpose-built care home in Upper Norwood, London.
The project is being led by the experienced team behind the Chestnut Lodge in Tonbridge, a similarly sized property which achieved a CQC Rating of “good” early last year. Once built, the c.38,000 sq.ft. new development will offer dementia, residential and nursing care and include a bistro-style café bar, a hair salon with nail bar, spacious lounges and dining rooms, a family room for events, a cinema and a quiet meditation room. The property is situated at the most elevated point on Beulah Hill, providing residents with views of the London Skyline (The Shard, The Gherkin and Canary Wharf) to the north, as well as the rolling Surrey Hills to the south.
According to Knight Frank’s annual UK Healthcare Development Opportunities 2020 research report, the number of care home beds per 100 people over the age of 85 has fallen from 33.7 to 28.7 since 2010. If the same rate of growth in beds is applied to the next decade, bed provision will continue to decline unless new developments come to market to keep up with the UK’s ageing population.
Commenting on the transaction, Rakesh Wadhwa, Owner of Beulah Vista Caring Home, said: “This capital from OakNorth Bank will provide us with enough liquidity to complete construction, including a luxurious fit out of fixtures, furniture and equipment – something which had been otherwise delayed due to the pandemic. It’s been a pleasure working with the OakNorth Bank team – they moved quickly and demonstrated in-depth knowledge of the sector throughout the process.”
Sammy Bajaj, Associate at OakNorth Bank, added: “The fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has marred the care home sector. Over the past year, small independent care homes have been significantly impacted, as most care home operators and owners lacked the liquidity, infrastructure and scale to cope with the virus. We are therefore pleased to support the final stages of this development and bring a new care home to market. Rakesh and his team have a strong track record in this space, having successfully operated another care home for the last eight years which is experiencing high occupancy and has a good CQC rating.”
James Mole, Director at London Belgravia Specialist Finance, commented: “It’s great to see developers addressing the need for more purpose-built care facilities. We are happy to have helped our client with their growth plans and push ahead with the Beulah Hill home scheme – for which there’s already been significant interest received. We approached OakNorth Bank because of their in-depth knowledge of the sector and the speed with which they operate.”
[1] Source: Knight Frank Healthcare Development Opportunities – 2020 Research Report
ENDS
Notes to editors
About the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
CBILS is a demand-led scheme offering lending to smaller businesses with turnover of up to £45m. Invoice finance and asset finance facilities are available from £1k to £5m, while term loans and revolving credit facilities are available from £50k to £5m. The government makes a payment to cover interest and lender-levied fees under CBILS for the first 12 months. The scheme is due to close for new applications on 31 March 2021.
About OakNorth Bank plc
OakNorth Bank provides fast, flexible and accessible debt finance (from £500k to £50m) to fast-growth businesses and established property developers / investors. It has debt finance teams in London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds and East Anglia.
Since its launch, the bank has:
• Lent over £5bn, directly helping with the creation of 17,600 new homes and more than 22,500 new jobs in the UK;
• Raised deposits from c.175,000 savers;
• Supported over 750 businesses across the UK with the debt finance to pursue their growth ambitions
It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Visit wordpress-test-website.oaknorth-it.com for more information.
Contact
Stephanie Kendall, Associate Director – Growth & Communications: [email protected] / [email protected] / 0775 242 9643