Investing £30m To Secure The Future Of Your Parks
The Parks Trust, one of Milton Keynes’ largest commercial property landlords, has secured a £30m loan that will play a major part in giving the Trust long term financial stability and thereby securing the future of the city’s treasured parks and green spaces. The loan will be used to acquire further commercial property that will double the size of the Trust’s portfolio and generate long term rental income and capital growth. This is an important step for the Trust and for Milton Keynes as the successful long term management of the parks and green spaces depend very largely on the Trust’s ability to generate income from its commercial property activities. The Trust receives no funding from the Government or the local authority. It is entirely self financing whereas in most other towns and cities the parks are paid for via council tax.
Working with local law firms Kimbells and Geoffrey Leaver, specialist property investment advisors Torrin Asset Management and Baker Tilly Corporate Finance, the Trust secured the £30m loan from the Milton Keynes’ branch of the Swedish bank Handelsbanken. Handelsbanken were advised by the local offices of Savills and Denton Wilde Sapte.
Chairman of the Trust’s board of trustees John Duggan, former ceo and chairman of Gazeley, said: “Caring for the city’s parks is a huge responsibility. We need to ensure that any financial actions we undertake now will ensure that we can protect and maintain the parks over the next 100 years.”
David Foster, Chief Executive of The Parks Trust, said: “By taking this bold step now the board of the Trust has shrewdly grasped the opportunity to borrow money for further investment at a time when interest rates are at a historical low and quality commercial property can be acquired at a reasonable price. This loan secured against the Trust’s existing commercial property is just one part of a carefully worked out long term financial strategy that will ensure we can take care of the city’s beautiful parks now and in the future too”.