High-velocity property fund is a boon for smaller developers
Cenydd Rowlands, of Finance Wales, on the £40m Wales Property Fund and how it can help smaller property developers
SMALL developers can have a significant lasting economic impact on local communities. That’s what is driving our [Finance Wales’] new specialist property team as we begin work with the expanded £40m Wales Property Fund.
Financed by the Welsh Government, the fund was initially launched in 2013 in response to the reduction in traditional funding appetite for the property development sector – the intention being to offer support to SME property developers looking to finance new construction projects in Wales.
The structure of the fund has allowed repayments to be quickly recycled, meaning the same money can be used several times to support a number of different projects. In fact, £27.2m has been invested since 2013 across 39 projects in 12 different Unitary Authorities in Wales.
This has resulted in the creation of 350 new homes and over 57,500 sq ft of new commercial space, while also supporting more than 500 jobs.
This high-velocity capital has been of particular benefit to smaller developers like Lewis Homes. Based in Rhondda Cynon Taff, the father-andson business has utilised the fund to develop various residential schemes residential purposes.
Mixed-use developments can offer fantastic potential to breath new life in to historical assets and reinvigorate local communities.
Arguably, there is no better example of this approach than the recently completed Jennings development in Porthcawl.
This landmark development is a sympathetic regeneration of a locally important listed building with its own iconic status, providing a longterm sustainable future including community, commercial and residential