OakNorth Bank is offering GBP50m to support Brigid Investments to finance the UK retirement leasing portfolio of McCarthy Stone!

Brigid Investments, a special purpose vehicle formed by John Laing, and Macquarie Capital have received a GBP50 million loan from OakNorth Bank. villa

OakNorth Bank's capital will support the acquisition of some 250 newly constructed and fully-occupied pension units operated by McCarthy Stone, UK's development and retirement community manager. The unit in the UK is divided into two types: the Retirement Living: apartments specially designed for over 60s and equipped for the communal lounges and guest suites supporting the association and the Retirement Living PLUS: apartments over 70s designed to have additional facilities, such as restaurants, flexible onsite services and support packages for those in need.

Brigid Investments will also be able to develop an advanced, scalable platform, in partnership with McCarthy Stone, to finance an additional 400 rental pension schemes over the next 12 months.

Brigid Investments CEO Richard Williams says: "We are pleased to partner with McCarthy Stone, UK's leading retirement community manager, and to create a platform for growth. Retirement life is a market with high entry barriers and strong basic principles, supported by an aging population and a reduced supply. John Laing and Macquarie Capital are both leading investors with significant previous experience in investing in specialized housing and broader social infrastructures in the development of infrastructure. We were pleased to work with Damien and the OakNorth Bank team who had an impressive understanding of retirement life. They have structured a flexible and attractive facility which will have a major impact on our future growth objectives."

"Richard has over 20 years of experience in real estate, property and future living, as a Regional Managing Director with McCarthy Stone and as Chief Executive Officer of Rangeford Retirement Living & Care," says Hughes, Senior Directors of Property Finance at OakNorth Bank. The experience, coupled to a talented team around him and the fact that we expect a high demand for rental units, given the additional optionality they offer, are crucial factors in the success of this project. With the UK's livelihood market substantially underfunded compared to other developed countries, and the demand imbalance expected to deepen on a medium-term basis, lenders must support short, medium and long-term projects of this type."

N A S Invest Group expands its business to the market of northern Europe!

N A S Investment Group (NA S) expands its business into the northern region. The Frankfurt based company, in partnership with a multi-family office serving prominent Danish business owners, has established a new Copenhagen joint venture to build a diversified real estate portfolio in the northern European countries in the medium term.

The investments are mainly in key buildings within the categories of office, retail and logistics assets, with a geographical focus on Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. The capital will be raised and managed via a reserved alternative investment fund (RAIF) structure based in Luxembourg, which is currently being launched.

The immobilization market in the Nordic countries is still highly appealing to investors even after years of boom in the joint venture partners. In future, N A S, in particular for institutional and semi-institutional investors, will also make significant contributions to its many years of expertise in immobilization and asset management in the Northern European region and thus expand its investment strategy.

The RAIF structure has already evolved into a successful investment vehicle in five years from its introduction for distinguished institutional and semi-institutional investors. The RAIF does not require the product approval of CSSF, the Luxemburg Financial Supervisory Authority, as an alternative investment fund for the institutional and professional investors. In its capacity as the responsible management company together with the custodial bank, only the Alternative Fund Manager (AIFM) is supervised by CSSF. The RAIF structure is a bundling vehicle that provides the flexibility that is so important for alternative investments and is therefore a highly advantageous solution, particularly for investors such as family offices and foundations. Because the fund structure permits the establishment of subfunds, the entire product family can be supported by a single RAIF.