- Founded by Gerard Versteegh in 1989, CEG is a privately owned real estate investor, asset manager and developer;
- Specialising in the residential, office, industrial and strategic land sectors, the group’s portfolio covers six million sq. ft of land at a valuation of c.£800m;
- The £64.5m loan from OakNorth will be used to refinance eight major office-led sites located in the Midlands, North West, and Scotland;
- Demand for high quality office space in the UK outstripped supply in 2023, with occupiers seeking the best quality, most sustainable, and best located buildings[1].
OakNorth, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, has provided a £64.5m loan to privately owned real estate investor, asset manager and developer, CEG.
Founded by Gerard Versteegh in 1989 and with offices in London, Leeds, Birmingham and Cornwall, CEG specialises in the residential, office, industrial and strategic land sectors. Having won a host of awards, including the national BCO Commercial Workplace Award, the group’s portfolio now covers six million sq. ft of land, at a valuation of c.£800m. Sustainability is a core principle embedded across CEG’s products, processes and partnerships, with its own sustainability commitments having been recently created in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals – a holistic and transparent framework for sustainability strategy.
The £64.5m loan from OakNorth will be used to refinance eight major office-led sites, located in Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester, Crewe, Warrington, Glasgow and two in Edinburgh. Offering a total of 119 units, several of the sites include a ground floor café, gym facilities, breakout spaces, as well as cycle racks and designated car parking spaces. Spread across c.700,000 sq. ft of land, the Nottingham, Birmingham, Crewe, and Glasgow sites are all within one mile of city centres.
Gerard Versteegh, Founder & Chairman of CEG, commented: “Since our launch, CEG has been committed to providing workspaces that ensure colleagues are happy and productive, enabling customers to attract and retain the very best talent. Not only do we understand how people want to work and live their lives, but our experience also allows us to take a long-term view that enables us to make decisions that benefit both investors and customers. Working closely with Damien and the OakNorth team on this transaction was extremely positive. Their transparency and responsiveness throughout the entire process was extremely helpful and it was clear from our first meeting that they had a strong knowledge of the UK’s commercial real estate market across all seven of the site locations.”
Damien Hughes, Senior Director of Property Finance at OakNorth, added: “This deal presented an opportunity to refinance a core office portfolio with a best-in-class sponsor who continues to be highly active in the sector. Under Gerard’s stewardship, CEG has built up a deep knowledge and understanding of all the markets they transact in. With demand for high quality office spaces across the UK continuing to outstrip supply, driven by occupiers seeking the best quality, most sustainable, and best located sites, the CEG group is in a perfect position to capitalise on this tailwind. We are delighted to have been able to support such a well-renowned and established property investment firm and look forward to supporting them on future projects.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
[1] CBRE – UK Real Estate Market Outlook 2024
About OakNorth
Launched in September 2015, OakNorth is the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, empowering the lower mid-market (businesses with £1m-£100m turnover) to support growth, prosperity, and innovation for the benefit of all.
Since its launch, the bank has:
- Lent over £11bn to these businesses, directly helping with the creation of 40,000 new jobs and 29,000 new homes across the UK;
- Provide deposit services to over c.285,000 savers.
It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Visit www.oaknorth.co.uk for more information.
Media contact
Tom Pavey-Smith, Associate Director, Growth & Communications – [email protected] / [email protected] / 0791 716 5588