Maslow Capital has completed a £136.8 million refinance for two residential towers at Circle Square in Manchester, secured against the North and East Towers on the Oxford Road corridor.
The facility enables Vita Group to repay existing debt and acquire its joint venture partner’s interest in both buildings, bringing them into full ownership. The refinance also supports the phased sale of 487 completed and let apartments, along with 14 ground-floor commercial units.
Income-producing asset strategy
Vita Group is selling the apartments as furnished, income-producing investments, reporting demand from both UK and international buyers. The buildings include amenities such as 24-hour concierge services, private dining rooms, a cinema room and communal lounges. The North Tower additionally features a gym and co-working space.
The transaction reflects a financing approach for completed residential schemes that require capital between practical completion and final unit sales. With rental yields remaining attractive for landlord investors, the facility allows rental income to service the debt whilst the sales programme continues.
Matt Pigram, senior director of origination at Maslow Capital, said: “Circle Square is a completed, income-producing asset in one of Manchester’s strongest city-centre locations, with a unit sales programme that was already well progressed. The facility gives Vita the flexibility to refinance, take full ownership of the towers and continue executing its strategy for the assets, with rental income servicing the debt in the meantime.”
Circle Square development
The towers sit on the former BBC site on Oxford Road and form part of a mixed-use development combining residential, Grade A office, retail and leisure space with public areas including Symphony Park. John Sisk & Son built the North and East Towers, which reached practical completion in 2021.
The location is within walking distance of the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the central business district, with Oxford Road station one minute away.
Daniel Murray, senior director of short-term finance at Maslow Capital, explained: “Large completed residential schemes increasingly need funding that bridges the period between practical completion and the sale of the final units. That is exactly what our short-term finance offering is designed to do.”
Peter Shipley, finance director at Vita Group, noted: “Bringing the North and East Towers into full Vita ownership was a natural opportunity for us given our long-standing history with Circle Square. These are established assets, and our facility with Maslow gives us the flexibility to execute the next phase of our strategy while continuing to operate the buildings as income-producing investments.”
Maslow Capital has previously financed Select Properties’ Port Street and City Suites 2 schemes in Manchester. Vita Group develops and operates purpose-built student and residential assets across the UK and Europe.
