Leumi UK provides £85m facility to Castleforge and Fortress Investment Group for acquisition and refurbishment of City of London office

Real estate lender Leumi UK has provided an £85m investment and capex facility to Castleforge and Fortress Investment Group to support the acquisition and refurbishment of Vintners Place and Thames House, a multi-let office asset in the City of London. The transaction demonstrates Leumi UK’s commitment to building trusted partnerships and providing flexible solutions to add real value for borrowers.

Located at 68 Upper Thames Street overlooking the River Thames, the two interconnected buildings offer a range of floor plates, extensive occupier amenities, and good transport connectivity. This asset presents an opportunity to provide a high-quality offering for occupiers at a discount to prime rents, particularly given the strong tenant demand for large floor plates with rich amenities in good locations.

Both Castleforge and Fortress have extensive experience in the office sector across Europe, including a proven track record of targeting well-located central London office assets where there is clear potential to drive value through refurbishment and active asset management.

Brotherton Real Estate acted as introducer to the transaction.

Guy Brocklehurst, Relationship Director at Leumi UK, commented: “We are thrilled to build our relationship with two market-leading and trusted partners as they execute their refurbishment and leasing strategy to reposition Vintners Place. Working closely with both sponsors throughout the transaction, we delivered a sophisticated loan structure specifically designed to achieve their goals. This transaction reflects Leumi UK’s ongoing appetite for well-located office assets and our ability to structure flexible solutions to support our clients’ objectives.”