Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) has completed a £12.5m loan facility to support the development of the first designer shopping centre outlet village in the North East.

The complex facility faced several challenges, including multiple lease and contractual agreements and completed in seven weeks between commitment and drawdown.

The refinance, will allow the developers, Simon Waterfield and Ralph Congreave, to finalise funding for the full development of the project, known as the Scotch Corner Designer, comprised of retail space, food hall and a large home and garden centre.

The site has a market valuation of £42.9m and being the first of its kind in the North East.

The case was introduced to HTB by LEXI Finance and was subject to tight timescales.

Having worked on numerous complex cases, HTB carried out all due diligence on the site and tailored the facility for the borrower accordingly.

Owner of Scotch Corner, Simon Waterfield, said: "I am thrilled to work with LEXI and HTB on the financing of Scotch Corner. The delivery of this scheme will attract hundreds of thousands of people to the local area, boosting the economy and employment prospects. We are delighted we can move the project forward with this interim finance in place."

Lending director in development finance at HTB, Harry Bhogal, added: "This was a complicated case, and we were up against tight deadlines. We weren’t phased by this as the client’s passion for bringing high quality products, reputable brands with excellent service and attractive prices to the North really struck a cord with us. We knew from the beginning that we’d be able to collaborate well with both LEXI and the developers, to get the facility delivered.

"We’re always keen to work with ambitious developers, and our commitment to getting to grips with the individual elements of a case means we are well placed to deliver even when there are hurdles."

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