London house builder secures £75m to drive development of former Luton car factory

A London house builder has announced that it has secured £75m of funding for the transformation of a former car factory into a residential development.

Strawberry Star, an international house builder based in London, has secured the funding from Cheyne Capital to support its ‘Lu2on’ development.

Lu2on is set to be the first mixed use development in Luton, and will see the former Vauxhall Motors factory provide 877 residential units.

The development is set to be completed by the end of 2021.

Santhosh Gowda, chairman of Strawberry Star Group, commented, “Lu2on by Strawberry Star is the first mixed-use development in Luton, providing attractive, high-quality homes as well as retail and commercial facilities.

“The development is supporting the regeneration of the area and contributing to the economic growth of the town.

“We are working closely with the local community and the council, to support inclusive growth. We are delighted about our new partnership with Cheyne Capital, and it signifies confidence in us both as a developer and our vision for the scheme.

Richard Howe of Cheyne Capital added: “At Cheyne, we capitalise on opportunities in direct real estate lending; the investment approach combines a comprehensive valuation of the property assets with a detailed analysis of the debt structure in order to identify investments offering attractive yields and robust downside protection.

“By transacting on this debt recapitalisation we have further demonstrated our ability to source and provide innovative financial solutions in an ever changing and challenging market.

“We were impressed with Strawberry Star’s track record as a developer in the UK property market and are delighted to support them in bringing to market this fantastic mixed-use development to Luton.”