BLME, the largest Islamic bank in Europe, has today announced that it is to provide a three year, £20 million finance facility for the development of a mixed residential and commercial space in Wenlock Road, Hackney.

The project, managed by Citystyle, will enable further investment to be made in the development of affordable housing following the Government’s changes to the UK grant system.

Once completed, the site will be made up of 68 private apartments, six shared ownership apartments and a commercial space, in the up-and-coming Wenlock Road.

The development site is located half a mile from the Old Street roundabout, also known as ‘Silicon Roundabout’ following the boom in start-up internet, media and technology firms concentrated in the vicinity.

The latest of BLME’s undertakings means that the Sharia’a compliant bank has provided over £240 million of finance to mid-market projects in the UK over the past 12 months.

Citystyle is a subsidiary of One Housing Group, a leading provider of affordable housing and residential support across London and the South East, managing over 14,000 homes in 26 boroughs.

Alice Myers, Head of Property Finance at BLME, commented: “Hackney is an up-and-coming area that is increasingly attractive to young professionals due to the affordable property prices, the growth of the technology sector and its proximity to the City and central London.

“The new affordable housing and commercial properties will ensure that more young professionals and companies are drawn to the area, and that it continues its redevelopment.”

She added: “The UK property market continues to offer an attractive return to investors. While developers have been finding it hard to secure reliable financing from banks, for either refinancing or development finance, we feel that BLME is ideally placed to address this funding gap, specifically in servicing the UK mid-market space.”