Croydon building to be transformed into university hub with £10.3m funding

A four-storey building in South London is set to be given a new lease of life with a new multi-million pound funding package.

OakNorth Bank, the UK bank powered by OakNorth, has completed a £10.3m loan to a private property company to refurbish Electric House in Croydon.

Croydon Council granted planning permission last year to convert the four-storey building for London South Bank University (LSBU), featuring a lecture theatre, classrooms and a cafe.

The university has signed a 15‐year lease on the 56,000 sq ft office building, which will become a campus for students studying health, social care, business and finance, and be LSBU’s second outside of central London.

Deepesh Thakrar, senior debt finance director at OakNorth Bank, commented: “Projects like this are what regeneration schemes are all about – by refurbishing this building which has been vacant for years, the developer is bringing real value to the community.

“We’re delighted to be involved by providing the capital needed to get the refurbishment completed this year.

“This is another vote of confidence for Croydon, as LSBU’s new campus will bring new education and career opportunities to the borough, deliver more local jobs and provide a boost to the local economy.”

Vedrana Riley, CEO at Ciel Capital, who advised the private company on the deal, added: “We were delighted to be selected as the advisors for this project – it is an exciting refurbishment in a part of London that is set to change dramatically over the next decade.

“Having worked with Deepesh and the team at OakNorth Bank before, we knew we could rely on them to be fast, flexible and collaborative, and once again, they didn’t disappoint.”