Urban Splash raises £125m to fund growth

Jun 4 2008 by Barry Turnbull, Liverpool Daily Post

Urban Splash raises £125m to fund growth

PROPERTY group Urban Splash has raised £125m to fund future growth at the same time as founders Tom Bloxham and Jonathon Falkingham announced a plan to give away part of their shareholding to directors of the business.

The pair are to hand over 24% of the company to give seven key directors a stake in the business, which is claimed to be worth almost £100m.

Raising £125m is something of a coup for Urban Splash in current market conditions. Bill Maynard, head of the Liverpool office, said: “We have grown fast, but have reached a stage where we need to go to the next level of development. Obviously, development funding is not as easy to obtain at the moment, but our track record speaks for itself.”

HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and the Co-operative bank are involved in the refinancing package. The funding means the newly-incentivised team of directors will have a platform to grow the business.

Mr Bloxham is reported to have valued the company at just under £100m.

He said he wanted to take the company on a new journey and create another £100m worth of value in the company with the people who are currently managing directors. He said: “My ambition is to allow them to become millionaires at the end of the next chapter of growth.”

Finance director Julian Curnick said prospects were not as bleak as some in the market suggest.

He said: “The economic climate means some land prices may fall and that in itself may offer some value. Urban Splash was actually founded during a recession.

“We are also pressing ahead with residential developments because we believe the housing market will be robust in the long term.”

Urban Splash’s profits dipped to £2.9m last year from £8.9m the previous year with turnover up from £57m to £62m.

Mr Maynard, a prominent player in the Merseyside property market, is leaving the business.

He said: “I envisaged being here for 10 years and it’s been 14. Now the plan is to travel the world for a couple of years.”

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