The developer behind an upmarket student accommodation scheme in Bath has received a £10m finance facility from Barclays to help fund its completion.
Aquila Court, on the site of the former Pickford’s warehouse on Lower Bristol Road, is being developed by Bristol and Exeter-based Eagle One Group. Work on the £30m, 203-bed complex is expected to finish next January.
The company’s largest development since it was established in 1984, it involves the redevelopment of the former warehouse – which it also owned – into two, four and five-storey accommodation blocks, made up largely of cluster flats offering shared kitchens and dining spaces, flexible study and social areas as well as an on-site gym.
Eagle One said once completed it would help meet a shortage of student accommodation in Bath.
Barclays already provides development funding for Eagle One’s residential retirement business Blue Cedar Homes.
Eagle One Group managing director Paul Goodes said: “That provided a template for the process to be able to access the finance for this development.
“The transaction was completed when it needed to be and with sensible flexibility. We look forward to continuing to work with Barclays now and in the future.”
Barclays real estate director Steve Hocking added: “Providing the financial facility is an exciting opportunity to support a long-standing client to adapt to the current environment and enable the continuation of what is their biggest build to date.
“I’m pleased that we have been able to support our client in this way during these challenging times, which has to be good news for students looking to study in the city, as well as the local economy.”
Planning permission for the development was granted in November 2017. The building contractor is Speller Metcalfe and the architect was Bristol-headquartered Stride Treglown, which also has an office in Bath.
Eagle One Group, formerly known as Rockeagle, operates across the South West and has an asset portfolio of retail, leisure and employment schemes worth more than £190m.
