Newcore Capital acquires £20 million of educational assets for UK social infrastructure fund

category

Article, Report

date

October 20, 2022

Newcore Capital Management, the UK social infrastructure real estate investment manager, has acquired a further £20 million of educational assets for Newcore Strategic Situations V LP, its new £300 million value-add, social infrastructure fund.

The acquisition of the seven assets increases the fund’s investments to £43 million. It remains active in the market for educational properties as well as other social infrastructure assets, including healthcare, veterinary, waste, energy and open storage.

The seven assets, all located in Greater London and the southeast, include five early-years education settings now leased to operating partners: Family First in Guildford, Marlow and Finchampstead, Banana Moon in Tunbridge Wells and Fennies in Gerrards Cross. In addition, two special educational needs schools have been acquired: a primary school now leased to Outcomes First Group in Guildford and a school leased to an undisclosed tenant in Walton-on-Thames.

Harry Savory, chief investment officer of Newcore, said: “These seven investments provide good opportunities for our value-add strategy and for extending relationships with excellent operators of educational businesses. We are actively in the market to invest in further assets in the social infrastructure sector”.

Newcore announced the soft first close of Newcore Strategic Situations V LP (NSS V LP) in March, with an initial £60 million of investment firepower and expects a further single closing of the Fund at year end 2020. NSS V LP will shadow Article 9 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), the highest green rating of positive impact that an alternative investment fund manager can achieve. This accords with Newcore’s strategy of delivering additional and much-needed essential services real estate to the UK market, while mitigating carbon dioxide emissions and utilities waste, within its B Corporation governance framework.

Newcore wins Property Fund Manager of the Year Award 2021

category

Article, Awards

date

August 25, 2022

Newcore Capital Management, the B Corporation-certified, social infrastructure investment manager, is delighted to announce that it won the coveted Property Fund Manager of the Year award at this year’s UK Property Industry Awards.

Newcore’s COO, Neil Sarkhel and its CIO, Harry Savory were presented with the award, which was sponsored by Yardi, at the InterContinental London, The O2, on 12 November 2021. The Property Awards, in its 26^th year, is the property industry’s largest awards ceremony, recognising and rewarding the very best companies, teams and individuals.

Newcore was chosen by a panel of judges from a shortlist of nine other fund managers, which included Hines, Legal & General Investment Management Real Assets, Patron Capital and M7 Real Estate, for its performance and quality of its work in 2020/21, which included:

succeeding at first attempt to become a B Corporation, the first dedicated UK real estate investment manager to become accredited by this external ethical business movement
strong and sustainable continuing financial performance of its funds over the year which allowed Newcore to raise substantial new discretionary capital
demonstrating a clear and measurable ESG strategy, particularly in relation to social impact – for example through its partnership with LandAid and the wider industry to create the Probono Programme.

Hugo Llewelyn, CEO of Newcore, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won the 2021 Property Fund Manager of the Year Award at this year’s UK industry awards. Since Newcore began, a decade ago, we have tried hard to create a credible platform and positive business culture through which to deliver sustainable and attractive returns for our clients, balancing the objectives of all stakeholders in our business. This award recognises our progress to date and we look forward to building on this further over the decades to come”.

Newcore Capital hires Kate Sandle as Director of Sustainability

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Article

date

July 26, 2022

Newcore Capital, the UK real estate investment manager specialising in social infrastructure, has hired climate and sustainability expert, Kate Sandle into its senior management team as Director of Sustainability. Newcore is a Certified B Corp and invests in assets that are essentially to society.

Before joining Newcore, Kate worked for more than six years at B Lab, the non-profit network responsible for rolling out the B Corporation movement in the UK, latterly as director of programmes and engagement. In 2020, Newcore became the first dedicated UK social infrastructure or real estate investment manager to certify as a B Corporation.

Reporting to chief operating officer, Neil Sarkhel, Kate will focus on helping Newcore manage and build on its ESG credentials, including:

Co-ordinating the sustainable approach of its latest fund (Newcore Strategic Situations V LP) which aims to deliver significant positive social impact as well as attractive risk-adjusted financial returns
Co-ordinating Newcore’s approach and reporting on environmental impact to external industry bodies such as GRESB and the measurement of the positive social impact generated by its fund strategies
Working on Newcore’s and its funds’ pathway to net zero CO2 emissions
Advising on and implementing improvements to the business to allow Newcore to increase its current B Corporation score from 113 at its next review
Generally promoting Newcore’s sustainable capital management approach to the fund management and real estate industries in which Newcore is involved

Hugo Llewelyn, CEO of Newcore, said: “We are delighted that Kate has joined as a senior member of our team, as we continue to build on our decade-long track record as a sustainable capital management business and B Corporation. Kate’s knowledge and experience in ESG and sustainability, based on her tenure as B Lab’s UK lead, is invaluable to us as we develop and deliver genuine positive impact though our funds and our own management platform”.

The B Corp Certification

The B Corp certification addresses the entirety of a business’ operations and covers five key impact areas of Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. The certification process is rigorous, with applicants required to reach a benchmark score of over 80 while providing evidence of socially and environmentally responsible practices relating to energy supplies, waste and water use, worker compensation, diversity and corporate transparency. To complete the certification, the company will legally embed their commitment to purpose beyond profit in their company articles.

About B Lab UK:

B Lab UK is transforming the economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, our global network creates standards, policies, and tools for business, and we certify companies—known as B Corps—who are leading the way. To date, our global community includes 4,900 B Corps in 78 countries and 153 industries, and over 150,000 companies manage their impact with the B Impact Assessment and the SDG Action Manager.

Newcore secures £90 million of senior debt facilities

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Article

date

July 19, 2022

Newcore Capital, the UK social infrastructure real estate investment manager, has secured £90 million of senior debt facilities for three of its funds and a separate account.

The four transactions comprise:

a new £40 million facility from OakNorth Bank for Newcore Strategic Situations V LP, a £300 million value-add, social infrastructure fund which held a first close in December 2021; the fund has a target loan-to-value ratio of 30% when fully invested
a £32.6 million refinancing and increase of a £22 million senior facility arranged by Rothschild & Co for Newcore Strategic Situations IV LP, its £150 million value-add fund; the fund is fully invested and the proceeds will be used for capital expenditure on assets
a refinancing of an £11 million senior facility from Lloyds Bank for Newcombe Estates, a UK family oﬃce property company, established in 1905, which is managed by Newcore
a refinancing of a £6.2 million senior facility from NatWest for Newcore Strategic Situations III LP

Neil Sarkhel, chief operating officer of Newcore, said: “The four debt transactions demonstrate the good appetite from lenders for the core product that Newcore creates. Newcore’s B Corp status was also a positive factor in the discussions we had with lenders”.

Newcore secures planning consent for 105,000 sq ft Life Sciences Campus

category

Article

date

June 14, 2022

Newcore Capital Management, the social infrastructure investment manager, has secured planning consent for the development of a 105,000 sq ft life sciences centre adjacent to Imperial College London’s campus at Ascot on the edge of London.

The consent from the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead is for the repurposing and redevelopment of Silwood Science Park adjacent to Imperial College London’s Science and Technology Campus in Buckhurst Road. Designed by Sheppard Robson, the project includes the demolition of the existing business centre and construction of a new 56,000 sq ft life science centre, the refurbishment and retrofitting of five existing laboratory buildings, totalling 48,000 sq ft, and a 2,000 sq ft café pavilion and landscaping.

In line with Newcore’s commitment as a B Corporation to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency, the development has sustainability at its heart. Through passive design, energy efficiency measures and the implementation of low and zero carbon technologies, together with a carbon offset contribution, the development will achieve a 100% site-wide reduction in carbon emissions, once built.

The consent is supported by Imperial College London, with the development integral to its growth plans at Silwood Park. Its campus, which is celebrating its 75^th anniversary this year, is a world-leading hub for conservation, ecological and evolutionary research with unique lab-field eco-test facilities.

Silwood Science Park is an asset in Newcore’s £150 million value-add fund, Newcore Strategic Situations IV LP. Newcore was advised by Savills in the planning process and by Hoare Lea, Gardiner & Theobald and Ramboll.

Harry Savory, CIO of Newcore, said: “We are pleased to have secured this important planning consent in partnership with Imperial and the local authority. Life sciences, particularly those linked to solving societal issues around healthcare and the environment, are essential to UK society and, hence, a core part of our strategy. We currently have other assets in the planning and development process in London, Oxford and Bristol and are keen to add to this portfolio”.

Category: Article

Newcore Capital acquires £20 million of educational assets for UK social infrastructure fund

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