An iconic former pumping station at the heart of one of Wales’ largest regeneration projects has been redeveloped with the backing of short-term loans totalling £900,000 from Finance Wales.
Award-winning local developer, Simon Baston converted the building into a sustainable, mixed-use development of 15 high-spec live/work apartments and 12,000 sq. ft. of A3 commercial units, known as the Pumphouse.
A £400,000 loan from the Welsh Government’s Wales Capital Growth Fund in November 2014 funded the purchase of the building and initial site preparation costs.
Having repaid this short-term loan in just over 3 months, Finance Wales then provided Simon with a further loan of £500,000 in March 2015 enabling him to secure the additional funding he needed to complete the £1.8 million project. Both loans have now been fully repaid.
115 construction and other jobs were created by the prestigious redevelopment project and all materials were supplied by local suppliers including Robert Price, and Fenestration.
“The Pumphouse is a prominent building in Barry docks as well as one of the area’s few remaining industrial buildings. It now has a new lease of life following our sympathetic redevelopment and is once again set to play an important role in the area, this time as the commercial centre of Barry Waterfront.
“We’ve made our name undertaking complex redevelopment projects in regeneration areas and this is an important project for us. Finance Wales backed us at key stages of the project and their loans were pivotal in enabling us to secure the total funding package we needed to complete the development successfully,” Simon Baston explained.
Having redeveloped the flats above Windsor Arcade and Albert Road Methodist Church in Penarth as well as Swansea’s J Shed, Simon has a reputation for completing high-quality, small-scale redevelopment projects.
With Barry Waterfront undergoing a multi-million-pound regeneration, the Pumphouse is his largest development to date.
Senior Investment Executive, Cenydd Rowlands structured the funding package for Simon. Commenting on the success of Simon’s latest project, he said:
“Simon has been breathing new life into old buildings throughout South Wales for many years and the Pumphouse is another significant and bold project for him. He’s a respected local developer who’s built up a multi-skilled team of local craftsmen as well as a reliable local supply chain, boosting the Welsh economy.
“Finance Wales’ bespoke funding package kick-started the Pumphouse project and enabled Simon to secure the additional funding he needed. We carefully structured the package to smooth any cash-flow issues that could potentially delay the project and incur unnecessary costs.”
The £20 million Wales Capital Growth Fund provides Welsh businesses with the short-term finance they need to fund key projects.
“We specialise in complex, often challenging, redevelopment projects like the Pumphouse. Cenydd at Finance Wales took time to understand our funding requirements and how we operate to come up with a flexible package that allowed us to complete the project and gave us the confidence to plan for future projects.
“The Pumphouse has been a great success. All 15 live/work apartments and 3 of the 4 commercial units have already been snapped up. A Speedy gym and Academy Coffee house are both opening soon. We’re now redeveloping another prominent and important waterfront building in a regeneration area – the Jennings Building in Porthcawl,” Simon added.
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