CBRE reaches £100m Investment Milestone for South Yorkshire JESSICA Fund

The first transaction comprises £8.8m development funding to support the development of a 21,000 sq ft Grade A office scheme on Norfolk Street in Sheffield city centre. The development will meet the sustainability demands of modern occupiers by achieving net zero, BREEAM Excellent and EPC A, whilst meeting the demand for centrally located office space off the back of the successful Heart of the City.

The second comprises a £8.05 million development funding to support the development of an 83,000 sq ft industrial scheme at First Avenue, GatewayEast in Doncaster, comprising 14 units ranging from 2,500 to 18,500 sq ft. This builds on the Fund’s previous investment in the area having supported the development of 44,000 sq ft of industrial space in 2017. The site forms part of the GatewayEast development which could see substantial economic growth following the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

The two loans take total funding deployed by the SY JESSICA Fund to more than £100 million since CBRE’s Lending team has been managing this programme, while leveraging over £100 million of private sector investment and supporting the creation of more than 2 million sq ft of commercial floorspace across the region.

Both projects are located within the South Yorkshire Investment Zone, which became the UK's first Investment Zone in 2023. Supported by £3 million of Investment Zone funding allocated to the Fund from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, the developments align with the programme's objectives of boosting productivity, attracting investment and supporting economic growth across South Yorkshire.

Oliver Coppard, South Yorkshire’s Mayor, said:

"South Yorkshire was the first Investment Zone in the country because we made a clear choice: to back our strengths, invest in our potential, and give businesses the confidence to grow here. Reaching £100 million invested through the JESSICA Fund is a significant milestone. It's helped unlock hundreds of millions of pounds in private investment too - proving when we back ourselves, others want to back South Yorkshire as well. The developments in Sheffield and Gateway East in Doncaster are exactly the kind of projects we want to see. They're creating high-quality space for businesses to start, scale up and succeed. Another vote of confidence in South Yorkshire as one of the UK's leading centres for advanced manufacturing, engineering and innovation - helping us build a bigger and better economy for the future."

Andrew Antoniades, Head of Lendin at CBRE said:

"The Fund was one of our first lending mandates and we are delighted that working together with the excellent SY team, we have met the milestone of £100m deployed for SY JESSICA. Behind the milestone is 1.7m sq ft of employment space that has contributed to the economic strength and regeneration in the region. These recent transactions demonstrate the impact that investment can have in unlocking development and accelerating growth across the region. As projects within South Yorkshire's Investment Zone, both schemes support ambitions to boost productivity and create sustainable economic opportunities. The Fund was one of our cornerstone lending mandates and forms part of our portfolio of £3bn of lending across the UK."