Rural office development receives £500k FW Capital North East Property Fund investment

A high quality office development has been completed with the help of a £500K investment from FW Capital, which manages the North East Property Fund.

Leading North East property developer Peter Candler secured the loan to finance the completion of the Rivergreen Centre office development at St Mary's Park, near Morpeth.

St Mary’s Park, the former site of St Mary’s Hospital, is a new community set in open countryside approximately two miles west of the village of Stannington.

The 12,480 sq. ft. development, available to let by a single occupier or as serviced office suites, offers high-quality office space, state-of-the-art communication and excellent amenities. The centre has ambitions to become a regional hub for business: with large boardroom, conferencing facilities for up to one hundred delegates and catering provided by nearby, award-winning gastropub St Mary’s Inn.

The building has been designed and constructed to minimise environmental impact and is rated ‘very good’ by BREEAM.

This is the first commercial development to benefit from the £10m North East Property Fund. The project has the potential to create 80 jobs once the site is fully occupied.

The North East Property Fund was established with the aim of supporting the development of small-scale property schemes and is backed by Santander and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

It offers loans from £250,000 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 two years.

Peter Candler, Director at Rivergreen Developments, said: “Built in the heart of Northumberland’s spectacular living landscape, the Rivergreen Centre offers all the benefits of 21st century technologies within the tranquility of a rural setting. It really is the best of both worlds.

“We are very grateful to FW Capital for their support. Their flexible approach and can-do attitude made them the ideal funding partner for this project.”

Tony Cullen, Investment Executive at FW Capital, said: “The Rivergreen Centre is the first commercial development that we have invested in through the North East Property Fund.

“Situated in a rural location with good transport links, the development caters perfectly for businesses that do not need a city centre presence.

“With the potential to create up to 80 jobs once fully occupied, the Rivergreen Centre will play a major role in the local economy and we are proud to have been able to support this.”

David Land, Chair of the Investment Board at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said: "Our focus is on driving economic growth and the North East Property Fund is helping to do that. Its really encouraging to see the completion of the first commercial property development under this fund – we look forward to supporting many more projects such as the Rivergreen Centre.”