Bank of Scotland gets Canonmills Gardens firing with £21 million development loan

Award winning developer, Artisan Real Estate Investors, has secured a £21m development debt funding to support its new Canonmills Gardens residential scheme from Bank of Scotland.

Artisan, which was named Scottish property company of the year 2018 at the Scottish Property Awards, is to use the agreement to help bring forward a new 180 apartment scheme on Warriston Road in central Edinburgh.

The 30 month package has been provided by the Bank of Scotland, which was named funding team of the year at the same awards. This agreement is the firm’s first with the Bank of Scotland.

Clive Wilding, Development Director from Artisan Real Estate Investors, said: “We’re really excited about Canonmills Gardens following our earlier success in Edinburgh. Having the backing of Bank of Scotland, the expertise of its team and their ability to help structure a tailored facility, has been pivotal to our plans.”

A mezzanine facility of £2.6m has also been provided by investor Beaufort Ventures, already an equity investor in the development, to provide Artisan with a more diversified funding mix.

Construction of the scheme, which includes 45 units of affordable housing acquired by Hillcrest Housing Association, has commenced with the first units expected to be available from March 2020.

Canonmills Gardens is being built on the site of a former B&Q store, close to Edinburgh’s commercial centre and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Inverleith Park and the New Town.

Artisan was behind Edinburgh’s £200m New Waverley mixed-use regeneration scheme, which includes 200,000 sq ft of Grade A office space delivered for the Government Property Agency.  This agreement is the firm’s first with the Bank of Scotland.

Steven Edwards, relationship director for Bank of Scotland Commercial Real Estate, added: “Edinburgh’s centre is starved of new, good quality residential stock, which gives Canonmills Gardens an obvious appeal. Artisan has shown great vision in acquiring the site and in its plans to transform it into a new community.

“We’re looking forward to building on our new relationship with them and combining the strength of two award winning teams behind more new development in Scotland.”

See the previous article about Muirhouse high rise flats – this really is a Tale of Two Cities – Ed