The Challenge
Formed in 2018 following a partnership between Generali Investment Holding and entrepreneurs, Florencio Beccar and Toby Smith, the firm has an AUM of c.€525M and a strong industry reputation of managing retail assets across several geographies, risk spectrums and property sectors. Axis Retail Partners were in need a trusted lending partner to support its maiden shopping centre acquisition – St George’s in Harrow – which totals 215,000 sq. ft. including 32 retail units and 669 parking spaces, and has an annual footfall of c.9M customers.
Opportunity & Outcomes
We were able to provide Axis Retail Partners with a £20.5M loan to support the acquisition. Toby Smith, CIO of Axis Retail Partners, commented on the transaction: “Given this was our first shopping centre acquisition, we were in need of not just bank, but a trusted lending partner who we could depend on to understand our business and structure a bespoke facility around our specific needs. Eamonn and the team at OakNorth Bank did just that, completing the entire transaction in under three weeks since first contact. They offered a level of flexibility we’ve not seen before from previous lenders, and we greatly appreciated the open and transparent nature of their approach, as well as the ability to talk directly to the decision makers.”