A joint venture between Melburg Capital and TPG Angelo Gordon, announce the completion of a £75.5m development facility with specialist real estate finance provider Maslow Capital, to bring forward their 399-bed eco-purpose-built student accommodation scheme in the heart of Bristol city centre.
Having secured planning permission to transform the former South Plaza office complex in May 2024, Melburg have signed a build contract with Winvic and begun reimagining the scheme to provide Bristol’s first eco-PBSA development.
The development will provide 399 student beds whilst retaining the original office structure. In so doing, the proposal will save 4,215 tonnes of embodied CO2, when compared with a demolition and rebuild. The embodied carbon will be 33% lower than a new ultra-low energy steel framed building, the equivalent of powering 1,504 houses a year, and save an additional 3,000 tonnes of CO2 by connecting to Bristol’s District Heat Network, incorporating heat pumps and roof-mounted PV panels. This will enable the project to target BREEAM Excellent certification and an EPC A rating.
Featuring 11,464 sq ft of internal amenity space, the scheme offers a market-leading 29 sq ft of internal amenity space per bed, setting a new benchmark in student accommodation. Residents will enjoy an unparalleled array of premium amenities designed to enhance their university experience. These include a yoga studio, gym, lounge, library, study space, bookable meeting room, faith room, laundry facilities, and a roof terrace on the 10th floor. It will also feature 8,181 sq ft of external amenity space and promote eco-friendly transportation by providing 434 cycle parking spaces. The scheme is due for practical completion in June 2026.
Burgess Okoh Saunders and Freedman + Hilmi provided legal services. Savills acted as property advisors. BBS Capital acted as debt advisor to the JV.
Jack Burgess, Melburg’s Chief Executive said: “We are pleased to be working with Maslow Capital on this ambitious project and look forward to welcoming students in the 2026 academic year. We continue to selectively grow our student housing exposure as part of our wider investment into the living sectors, which now stands at over 2,500 beds”
James Henry, Origination Director at Maslow Capital commented: “Maslow is delighted to be partnering with Melburg to deliver much-needed student housing in the Bristol market. This £75.5m commitment underscores Maslow’s strong appetite for partnering with best-in-class sponsors and delivery teams to fund high-quality living sector assets across the UK and Europe. It has been a pleasure working with all parties involved, and the Maslow Capital team looks forward to seeing the asset’s delivery over the next two years.”
Adam Buchler, BBS Capital added: “We’re delighted to complete another financing for TPG Melburg and it was a pleasure working again with the Maslow team”.
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Melburg announced the completion of a wider refinancing with National Westminster Bank on assets including Voltaic, Wakefield 41 Industrial Park and Sirdar Business Park, Wakefield.
Melburg acquired both assets in an off-market transaction in Q1 of 2022.
Melburg subsequently secured Yorkshires largest pre-let of 2023 at Voltaic, having undertaken a wholesale repositioning of the 210,000 sq ft logistics facility securing a 10-year lease commitment from XPO logistics. This facility is now the Wakefield Northern Distribution Centre and utilised as the dedicated operation for Saint-Gobain UK (SGUK) in the north of England. Dual-branded with XPO Logistics and Saint-Gobain livery, the site operates as a multi-brand one-stop shop for warehousing, backhaul and distribution to end customers.
Sirdar Business Park has been subject to significant management intervention, with 8 lease renewals and lettings since acquisition and currently benefits from 100% occupancy.
Natwest provided a senior loan to Melburg who have discreetly amassed a logistics footprint throughout the UK which exceeds 2.5 million sq ft, whilst also acquiring £1Bn of real estate over the past 24 months and raising a £575m UK focused discretionary fund.
Helen Blair, Melburg’s Chief Financial Officer commented “The speed of this refinance reflects the efficiency of our management platform, who have been able to transform the income characteristics of both assets within a short window, and in so doing increase asset values by over 30%. We look forward to building on our wider relationship with Natwest as we continue to organically grow and diversify our real estate exposure.”
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Former South Plaza office block will provide 399 student bedrooms.
- What? Melburg Capital has secured full planning permission for a
student accommodation scheme in Bristol. - Why? Former South Plaza office block will be converted to provide 399
student bedrooms, called 360 Bristol. - What next? Aiming to complete by June 2026, the project will include a
gym with changing facilities, café and leisure areas, a golf simulator
and bike storage.
Melburg Capital has obtained full planning consent to convert a former office block in Bristol city centre into a £100m purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme.
The proposals, which were submitted in June last year, will transform the former South Plaza office building to provide 399 student bedrooms.
To be called 360 Bristol, the development will include a gym, café, leisure facilities, prayer rooms, a golf simulator and 370 bike spaces.
Melburg intends to complete the scheme by June 2026 in time for the September academic year intake.
Andrew Burns, head of asset and development management at Melburg, said: “In line with our environmental agenda, we decided to reimagine this former office facility instead of demolishing it and, in doing so, expect embodied carbon emissions to be notably lower than those associated with constructing a newultra-low energy steel-framed building. We look forward to welcoming students to this exemplary scheme for the 2026 academic year and thank Bristol City Council for its continued support.”
Melburg was advised by Savills.
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Capital will be deployed across sectors where there are dislocation opportunities.
- What? Melburg Capital has raised a debut £565m fund.
- Why? Investment manager to target mispriced assets amid market
dislocation. - What next? Industrial, living, strategic land and operational real estate
will be main areas of focus for deployment.
Melburg Capital, an investment and asset management business founded by a notoriously discreet senior executive, has raised £565m for its debut UK real estate fund, React News can reveal.
Melburg Real Estate Fund I (MREF I), which will invest both directly and in joint venture opportunities, has been backed by several of the investment manager’s existing institutional partners along with private family offices.
The firm’s website notes it has previously worked with Angelo Gordon, AEW, Revcap, Investec, Hines and Leumi, and has transacted £1bn of deals since it was set up nine years ago. However, it declined to comment on which investors had participated in the inaugural fund raise.
Although sector-agnostic, MREF I will have a particular focus on industrial, living, strategic land and operational real estate opportunities throughout the UK.
“Our superior market connectivity coupled with a data-driven approach is enabling us to aggregate fundamentally mispriced assets across all sectors and regions”
HELEN BLAIR, MELBURG CAPITAL
Melburg was founded in 2015 by Jack Burgess, a notoriously private Schroder alumni who has shunned the media spotlight and has yet to be interviewed.Although still in his thirties, several sources told React News Burgess had garnered a reputation for shrewd deal-making and discretion. As chief executive officer, he has overall responsibility for the group’s transactional activity and investment strategies.
Over the past three years Melburg has diversified its platform, securing several high-profile planning consents and acquisitions. Most recently these include a 400-bed student accommodation consent in Bristol city centre, along with the 850-bed mixed-use approval within its Redcatch Quarter, which forms the hub for the development of the former Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle.
On the industrial side, Melburg has acquired in excess of 2m sq ft since its inception. Last summer, the manager prelet its entire Voltaic estate to XPO Logistics, in a move that marks the largest letting of the year in Yorkshire. Voltaic is a 210,000 sq ft logistics hub at the Wakefield 41 Industrial Estate,
West Yorkshire. XPO agreed to a 10-year lease term after Melburg repositioned the asset.
Helen Blair, Melburg’s chief financial officer, said: “The commitments are a reflection of the hard work and performance of the wider team. We intend on organically deploying our capital by utilising the extensive reach of both our direct property and venture capital arms.
“Although scale and consolidation remain a primary driver for most of the institutional market, our superior market connectivity coupled with a data-driven approach is enabling us to aggregate fundamentally mispriced assets across all sectors and regions.”
Successful raise
The success of Melburg Real Estate Fund I is impressive when benchmarked against a challenging backdrop for real estate fundraising. Only 59 private real estate funds closed in the first three months of 2024 – the lowest quarter on record, according to Preqin data analysed by React News. The total aggregate capital also remained low, at $28.6bn. 2023 was the toughest year in a decade for capital raising, with only $151.9bn of aggregate capital raised across 483 funds amid persistent macroeconomic headwinds.
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Planning permission has been granted for the demolition and redevelopment of the Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle, Bristol.
The scheme, to be called Redcatch Quarter, was brought forward by a joint venture between BBS Capital, Melburg Capital and Galliard Homes. The joint venture, the Redcatch Development Partnership, plans to build 800 homes, 30 retail units and new public space.
Melburg acquired the site for £9.5m out of receivership in 2021. Broadwalk was part of a portfolio of three shopping centres Frogmore bought for £130m in 2006. The other assets were Belle Vale Shopping Centre in Liverpool and Port Arcades in Ellesmere Port.
The 5.3 acre site is home to the 50-year old Broadwalk Shopping Centre which spans 218,500 sq ft of retail space. The site benefits from outline planning permission granted in 2019 to demolish the multi-storey car park and part of the shopping centre to make way for 420 homes and 124,000 sq ft of commercial space.
New plans were then drawn up that would increase the number of homes from 420 to nearly 800, and the provision for 30 retail units. A community café, creche and new facilities for Knowle Library as well as 1,280 cycle spaces were also included in the plans.
The joint venture is now seeking grant funding to secure additional affordable housing for Redcatch Quarter. It has also announced plans to submit a detailed planning application for the overall scheme, and anticipate construction to take a minimum of three years.
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CoStar Group inc. announced the CoStar Awards Quarterly Deals winners for the second quarter of 2023 with Melburg’s XPO Logistics [XPO] lease at Voltaic coming top in the Top Industrial Leasing Deals for Yorkshire & Humberside. The CoStar Awards Quarterly Deals winners are determined by the top deals executed every quarter, based on price and square footage and Melburg secured the win for the pre-let of the entirety of Voltaic, Wakefield 41 to XPO.
XPO has committed to a 10-year lease term with a break in year five, as well as extensive tenant works above the agreed specification.
Melburg bought the property off- market in the first quarter of 2022 and has undertaken a wholesale repositioning of the facility, which is due to complete in August. XPO will use the facility to service its ongoing contracts with Saint-Gobain, which has a number of construction products brands, such as British Gypsum and Sani-Tech.
Melburg was represented by Dave Robinson (Cushman & Wakefield), Rob Oliver, Jake Pygall (Avison Young), Tom Cooley (Cushman & Wakefield).
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For the award winners list, please click here.
For more information surrounding Voltaic, please click here.
Melburg Capital [Melburg] have pre-let the entirety of Voltaic, Wakefield 41, a 210,000 sq ft prime logistics facility in Yorkshire, to XPO Logistics, which marks the largest letting of the year within the region. XPO have committed to a 10 year lease term with a break in year 5, and have committed to extensive tenant works over and above the agreed specification.
Melburg acquired the property off-market in Q1 2022. Since securing the necessary planning consents Melburg have undertaken a wholesale repositioning of the facility, which is due to complete in August 2023.
XPO Logistics is a leader in providing transportation solutions. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S, the company operates from in excess of 560 locations globally and benefits from annual revenues in excess of $7 Billion.
XPO Logistics will utilise the facility to service their ongoing contracts with Sain-Gobain, a world leader in light and sustainable construction. Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial market, generating 51.2 billion euros in turnover in 2022. The occupation of Voltaic follows a consolidation for the partnership, with the unit now a key operational logistics hub.
Jack Burgess Melburg’s Chief Executive Officer commented;
“It is a pleasure to welcome XPO Logistics, and their client Saint-Gobain as partners. The letting validates our data driven approach to investing, highlighting our ability to identify off-market opportunities within geographies and sectors with an acute supply demand imbalance, and execute quickly when capitalising on pricing dislocations”
Andrew Burns, Melburg’s Head of Asset and Development Management commented;
“We are pleased that the quality of refurbishment is reflected by the quality of occupier in XPO Logistics. The industrial sector is not immune to wider fiscal turbulence, it is therefore imperative to understand the operational and sustainability requirements of an increasingly discerning occupier base. This understanding has enabled us to deliver an optimal product at a competitive rental level. We are continuing to organically grow our logistics platform and will soon be making an announcement around a broadening of management services”
Dave Robinsons, Partner at Cushman & Wakefield commented.
“Melburg’s foresight to identify this off-market opportunity and implement a quality refurbishment of an existing unit on Wakefield 41 Industrial Estate, one of Yorkshire’s prime locations, was key in securing this deal. Furthermore, the significant amount of parties and competitive process demonstrates the continued resilience of the occupier market particularly for key product in top tier locations”
Melburg was advised by Cushman & Wakefield, Avison Young and Burgess Okoh Saunders LLP. XPO were advised by Louch Shacklock and Partners.
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Melburg Capital [Melburg] have submitted plans to convert the former South Plaza office block, located in Bristol City Centre, into a 370-bed purpose built student accommodation development with associated facilities.
The submission follows on from Melburg’s proposed Redcatch Quarter development, within Knowle, Bristol, with a planned 850 residential beds as part of a significant investment into “Living” sectors to complement their expansive UK industrial portfolio which exceeds 2.5 million sq ft.
The £150 million student scheme will include a state-of-the-art gymnasium with changing facilities, full café and leisure facilities, a screening room, golf simulator and 370 secure bike storage spaces, one for each student as part of the proposed zero-student car strategy.
As part of Melburg’s ongoing commitment to achieving operational carbon neutrality across their growing portfolio, repurposing the office block will save 4,215 tonnes of embodied CO2, when compared with a demolition and rebuild.
The embodied carbon will be 33% lower than a new ultra-low energy steel framed building, the equivalent of powering 1,504 houses a year, 593 petrol cars, 25 long haul flights or running 49 London buses for a whole year. The proposal will also save an additional 3,000 tonnes of CO2 by hooking up to Bristol’s District Heat Network.
The proposed ground-floor front extension will have a green roof, bring planting into the public realm and result in a biodiversity net gain of 2,000%.
Subject to the necessary approvals Melburg hopes the accommodation will be open by September 2025.
Jack Burgess, Melburg’s Chief Executive commented;
“This ambitious, highly sustainable proposal seeks to provide Bristol with much needed purpose built student accommodation, and in so doing alleviate pressure on the chronically constrained housing market. We will be exploring operational optionality through our advisors Savills, are considering acquiring existing platforms and intend on growing our student housing exposure extensively as part of our wider investment into the living space”.
Melburg was advised by Savills and Burgess Okoh Saunders LLP.
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Melburg Capital [Melburg] announces the completion of a series of leasing deals at its recently acquired Sirdar Business Park, Wakefield.
The 350,000 sq ft asset was acquired off-market by the privately-owned investment manager in Q4 2021 and sits within a prominent 16.5 acre site off Junction 40 of the M1 motorway.
Melburg has since undertaken a tenant engagement and repositioning programme resulting in lease commitments from Dearnleys, one of the leading solar blind specialists in the UK, along with Ulster Yarns, part of the Ulster Group, a premium textiles manufacturer.
New lettings have also been secured with B&B Distribution and APH Automotive. Having acquired the asset with a rent passing of £2.45 per sq ft, all new lettings have been secured in excess of £5 per sq ft and account for over 60,000 sq ft of space.
Melburg has strategically amassed a logistics footprint throughout the UK which now exceeds 2 million sq ft, whilst also acquiring £1Bn of real estate over the past 24 months.
Andrew Burns, Head of Asset Management commented: “Sirdar Business Park is a great example of how our vertically integrated management platform is optimally designed to sustainably repurpose these complex assets effectively. We are continuing to grow the portfolio, acquiring assets which benefit from this close quarter management style.
“At Sirdar and in general we have prioritised our carbon footprint whilst providing an increasingly discerning occupier base with an excellent product. Although early in the asset repositioning, we intend to stage several further environmental interventions, targeting an EPC A rating whilst giving the occupational market something in short supply, a high-quality unit, benefitting from a collaborative management approach, at an affordable rent.”.
Melburg was advised by Cushman & Wakefield and Burgess Okoh Saunders LLP.
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Melburg Capital [Melburg] are pleased to announce that Jack Burgess has been recognised by Property Week as a “rising star” in their 2023 People to Watch list. This recognition follows the firm’s significant growth over the previous 18-months, which has seen the team acquire over 1 million sq ft of logistics assets, improve the energy performance certificates across 100% of their growing portfolio, submit one of the largest town centre designated regeneration schemes in the west country, dispose of in excess of £150 million of commercial assets and in so doing realise a 3-year unlevered IRR in excess of 27%.
The Melburg team is delighted by the recognition alongside some of the industry’s most impactful leaders and look forward to another year of partnerships and growth across the business.
A huge congratulations to the other individuals included, all of whom are listed below.
Michael Gove MP, Lucy Frazer MP, Lisa Nandy MP, Jennie Daly, Roger Wade, Julie Hirigoygen and the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee
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