Member Article

Northumberland developer is first to benefit from new £10m North East property fund

Northumberland developer W Brown & Son has become the first business to secure backing from a new £10m North East property fund, launched to provide support for smaller-scale North East construction projects,

Receiving £750k, the family-run firm is using the money to build four three-bedroom bungalows and the conversion of a former builder’s office into a three-bedroom cottage in its home village of Thropton, near Rothbury.

The new development is the latest in a series of schemes that W Brown & Son has built in Thropton, where it has been based since being founded in 1913, and the properties are expected to be ready for occupation early in the new year.

Andy Lowe, Project Manager at W Brown & Son, said: “The owners of the site were looking to retire, and it seemed an ideal location for us to further extend our presence in a community that we know very well.

“We looked at a number of different financing solutions for this scheme, and FW Capital’s interest in it made them stand out as the right option to take - the process of bringing in the loan went very smoothly, while the cost makes economic sense.

“The North East Property Fund provides a good option for smaller-scale developers like us to get projects moving that might not otherwise attract the backing they need, and the opportunities it provides are well worth investigating.”

Conceived and managed by investment firm FW Capital, the North East Property Fund was created in response to strong demand from small and medium-sized (SME) construction and property development companies who are unable to access mainstream finance from traditional sources.

The fund is backed by Santander and the North East LEP, and provides loans from £250k to £1m for residential and non-speculative commercial developments in Tyne & Wear, Northumberland and County Durham.

David Land, Investment Panel Chair at the North East LEP, said: “Our focus is on driving economic growth and the North East Property Fund is designed to kickstart and support small to medium residential and commercial property developments by unlocking finance.

“Profits will be reinvested helping to ensure the Fund’s sustainability and enabling an increasing number of property schemes to benefit over the coming years.”

Joanne Whitfield, Fund Manager at FW Capital, added: “The Fund will help to tackle the growing need to build more homes across Tyne & Wear, Northumberland and County Durham, which in turn will help to drive further economic growth in these areas.

“This first project provides an excellent example of the sort of smaller scale scheme that we’re looking to get involved with around the region, and we’re pleased with the number of enquiries that we’ve already had from North East developers with property schemes that they want to see realised.”

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