The capital will support the buyout of Edmond de Rothschild Real Estate Investment Management’s 32% minority interest in the business.

Founded in 2012, FORE’s unique fund strategy involves purchasing mispriced and undermanaged assets in central locations, repositioning them by enhancing cash flow from lease restructuring, and transforming them into highly sustainable low carbon buildings.

Since inception, the real estate investment firm — which is active in the UK and Western Europe — has acquired more than one million sq ft of commercial and residential property.

•   B&C roundtable: Is the second charge bridging market growing?
•   Cynergy and OakNorth approved for accreditation under CBILS
•   OakNorth Bank approves £36m in loans to Covid-19 hit businesses

Basil Demeroutis, managing partner at FORE Partnership, said: “During these unprecedented times, this buyout gives us the opportunity to be more agile and forward-thinking with our real estate acquisition pipeline. 

“Mohith Sondhi [senior debt finance director at OakNorth] and the team were on hand to answer any questions we had morning, noon or night, and their knowledge of both the real estate and fund management sectors gave us the confidence that we’d found the right funding partner.”

Recognising the current market conditions, FORE is cautiously considering where and when new investment opportunities will emerge in the impending dislocation and sees the opportunity to more than double its portfolio to circa £1bn over the next few years.

Mohith (pictured above) added: “This was an incredibly interesting and unique deal to have worked with Basil and FORE Partnership on, and a landmark deal for OakNorth Bank being our first fund buyout. 

“We’re excited to see how FORE Partnership continues to drive long-lasting economic change with its sustainable and progressive approach to real estate development and look forward to working with them in the future.”

Mohith commented that, despite ongoing uncertainty caused by Covid-19, the bank was continuing to find opportunities to support viable businesses with their growth ambitions.

Earlier in April, OakNorth Bank approved over £36m of new loans to British businesses in two weeks. 

In addition, the bank became an accredited lender under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).