Paragon Bank provides finance for West Sussex housing development

BRiCS Development has secured an £11.55 million finance facility with Paragon Bank’s Development Finance team to acquire a new site in West Sussex.

The company, which specialises in developments across the South of England, has purchased the Earnley Concourse, which has outline planning consent for 30 new build homes.

The company plans to deliver a mix of private and affordable two, three, four and five-bedroom homes with outside space, set amongst attractive landscaping. The development will be a mix of terraced, semi-detached, and detached homes.

The funding was led on behalf of Paragon by Senior Relationship Director Simon Dekker with support from Senior Portfolio Manager Craig Seaborne and Portfolio Manager Izzy Sargeant.

Funding was provided in partnership with the Housing Growth Partnership, which provided an equity stake in the scheme.

Earnley Concourse operated as a conference centre and wedding venue and, prior to that, a training centre offering leisure courses and activity weeks.

The site is located to the South West of Chichester and is close to the popular location of East Wittering.

BRiCS was formed in early 2020 to be a forward-thinking developer of new communities of varying tenure, with a focus on design quality and sustainability. The SME developer is backed by investment manager Omni Partners LLP and the BRiCS directors have over 75 years of experience of delivering complex suburban and urban schemes.

Previous schemes include Roussillon Park in Chichester, Elmsbrook in Bicester and Centenary Quay in Southampton.

BRiCS’ Development Director Hugo Reeve said: “Acquiring this site is an important milestone and will deliver much-needed new homes in a popular and picturesque location. The Earnley Concourse has been in a poor state of repair for some time, so this development will revitalise the site and create an attractive, community-focused place for people to live.”

In its last financial year, Paragon’s Development Finance team lent £528.1 million to support SME housebuilders and property developers across the UK.

Simon Dekker added: “We were impressed with the pedigree of the BRiCS’ management team and their clear plan for the site. BRiCS has developed a strong track record for delivering successful schemes across the south of England and we are confident that this scheme will also prove popular.”