A £630k investment by FW Capital which manages the North East Property Fund has given a North East construction company the opportunity to pursue its first multi-plot residential development.
JD Homes, the residential building division of JD Joinery and Building Services and an FMB member company, secured the short-term loan to bring forward a housing scheme known as The Stables in Stannington near Morpeth.
The homes, which are a bespoke collection of three and four bedroom detached properties are aimed at families and have just been released with prices starting from £325k.
The £10m North East Property Fund was established with the aim of kick-starting the development of small-scale property schemes and is backed by Santander and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
It offers loans up to £1m for residential and non-speculative commercial developments in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and County Durham. The Fund can provide up to 100% of build costs for suitable schemes with repayment terms available up to 2 years.
Joe Dixon, managing director of JD Homes, said: “Launching a residential homebuilding division has long been an ambition of the business and the North East Property Fund helped to realise this thanks to support for The Stables development of five quality homes.
“JD Joinery and Building Services has built a strong reputation as an innovator in residential building, particularly in Passivhaus and low-energy construction techniques. We are bringing these specialist skills to the JD Homes brand with the aim of creating superior family homes featuring smart home technology and low-energy design as standard.”
Tony Cullen, investment executive at FW Capital, said: “The North East Property Fund was set up to bridge a gap in funding for developers just like Joe who have plenty of experience and a great track record in delivery. The Stables is in a popular location with good access to the A1 and has already generated significant interest from prospective purchasers.”
David Land, the North East Investment Board chair, added: “The Strategic Economic Plan sets out a clear need for more homes to help drive economic growth. It is hugely positive to see the North East Property Fund fulfilling its purpose by providing a stop gap and that JD Homes has been able to make such good use of the loan.”
The success of JD Homes in securing finance is a great example of what can be achieved when barriers to access to finance are reduced for small builders.
In partnership with UK Finance, the FMB recently produced a Guide to Development Finance for small scale builders aimed at providing greater understanding of development finance, the processes and the options available.
