New £35 million commercial property fund will ‘boost region’s growth’

Development bosses say the region is primed for thousands of jobs following the launch of a £35 million property purse.

FW Capital and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership have unveiled the North East Commercial Property Investment Fund.

Bosses say it has potential to create 5600 posts and develop 140,000sq metres of business space.

Providing loans of up to £7 million, they add the fund will support speculative developments for new or refurbished commercial projects across Northumberland, County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North and South Tyneside and Sunderland.

They also say repayments will be pumped back into new schemes, creating investment of £119 million in commercial property over 15 years.

Joanne Whitfield, FW Capital North East fund director, said: “Developers often find it difficult to access the finance they need to bring forward projects, particularly if there are no pre-lets in place.

“The new fund supports speculative developments to help overcome these challenges and answers a critical need to improve the quality of the real estate stock in our region.”

Helen Golightly, North East Local Enterprise Partnership chief executive, added: “Job creation and the growth of key sectors in the North East are being held back by the market not delivering sufficient high-quality business premises.

“The North East Commercial Property Investment Fund will finance property and regeneration projects to build commercial properties needed to secure business investment in the region.”