Pictured above: Adrian Clarke, finance director for IM Properties

Warwickshire based IM Properties, one of the UK's largest privately owned property investment and development groups, has secured new senior debt funding of £150m from Handelsbanken and Yorkshire Bank.

A funding package of £95m has been secured with Handelsbanken for a term of five years, replacing existing facilities with the bank which expired in June.  A further £55m of funding has been secured with Yorkshire Bank, also for five years, and replaces an existing £43m facility from Bank of Ireland which had expired.

The senior debt funding encompasses two of IM Properties portfolios of offices and industrial properties stretching from the South East to the Midlands, including property on major Warwickshire schemes Birch Coppice Business Park and Hams Hall Distribution Park.

These facilities now take IM Properties' average facility expiry to over three years with 68 per cent of the company's debt now secured for at least four years.

Adrian Clarke, finance director for IM Properties comments: "Securing funding at this level puts the company in a very robust position while also demonstrating the strength of our reputation within the finance community."  

"We have an excellent existing relationship with Handlesbanken whose Birmingham team has consistently provided us with outstanding service over the past five years. The sensible approach Handelsbanken have taken to our banking has seen the relationship expand into the International Motors side of the group, where Handelsbanken now provide us with a range of banking services."

"We were also particularly impressed with the enthusiasm and commercial approach demonstrated by the Yorkshire Bank team during the eight-way tender process."

"Combining our substantial cash reserves with such robust banking facilities provides a solid platform from which to grow the business. This supports our strategy of building a portfolio of institutional grade assets, with an emphasis on the distribution sector, by way of direct investment, forward funding arrangements and development."

Established in 1987, IM Properties Plc is one of the UK's largest privately owned property groups with close to £1bn of property owned and under management within the UK, France, Germany and USA, the company's land bank is in excess of 300 acres.

IM Properties is well known for its consistent deliverability and the quality of its developments. This deliverability is reinforced by the fact that all developments are financed from existing cash resources.