One of the North East’s leading investment businesses, Tier One Capital, has successfully launched a new Investment Trust on the London Stock Exchange, named TOC Property Backed Lending Trust PLC (“TOC”), that will be used to invest in the continued development of a portfolio of fixed rate loans predominantly secured over land and/or property in the UK.
Alongside admission, TOC has implemented a £150 million share issuance programme with a view to growing the Company over the short to medium term. Listed on the Premium segment of the London Stock Exchange, the Company has been seeded with c.£17m raised from private investors based predominantly in the North East.
Acting as the Investment Advisor to TOC, Tier One Capital has extensive experience in the lending space and has a robust network to leverage on. Founded in 2012, and launched in its current form by former Coutts and Barclays Wealth directors Stephen Black and Ian McElroy in 2013, the company has in the region of £70m of assets under management.
The North of England is currently receiving significant commercial property investment. This is being driven by businesses continuing to invest for future growth. Concurrently, in the residential sector, the institutionally-backed Private Rental Sector (PRS) is growing in prominence as a solution to providing much needed high quality, purpose-built new homes.
Within these markets, Tier One Capital has already identified a pipeline of potential loans totalling approximately £90m through its presence in the real estate development and house building sector.
Stephen Black, Managing Director of Tier One Capital, said: “The appetite for an alternative form of investment is high and TOC enables both institutional investors and investors from the North East to combine their resources and invest funds that can deliver good returns. Targeting a dividend yield of seven per cent, TOC is designed to appeal to investors and will play a significant part in accelerating the economic development in the North.
“Our success is an indication of the general appetite to invest in this sector. We believe that with a combination of this market appetite, and TOC’s new offering, that we have a solid foundation for generating the kind of investment that will deliver a breadth of property developments that will encourage further economic growth and bolster communities.”