Generator Group has been granted planning permission for a development of 197 new homes in Felixstowe, Suffolk, of which a third will be affordable housing. The developer has recently secured Reserved Matters planning consent and closed a £12.5 million revolving debt package with investors Wellesley Group to develop the site out.

The partnership is the first of its kind between the property finance lender and developer that will enable the transformation of the 11-acre site in Ferry Road to the north-eastern edge of the town. Paul Isaacs, Managing Director at Generator comments: “This is our first deal with Wellesley and it is great to be working with a lender that is experienced and knowledgeable within the residential property sector. We are looking forward to delivering this new development for Felixstowe and to work with the team on this and future projects.”

The debt package will enable Generator to deliver a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom houses, as well as apartments, to suit a range of residents. In total, there will be 131 properties for private sale and 66 affordable units. Generator will also deliver the associated roads, infrastructure, car parking, landscaping and public open spaces.

Andrew Turnbull, Managing Director at Wellesley Group comments: “We are delighted to be working with Paul and the Generator team on this much needed housing scheme in Felixstowe. Our borrower required a revolving facility to support the building of this housing scheme and we are delighted to be able to provide them with the flexibility they need to deliver the 197 new homes.

“As a relationship lender, Wellesley works with highly professional house builders such as Generator on mid-market schemes, helping to create new homes across the UK. We have a regional focus and we have less than 20% of our loan portfolio in London. Our goal is to provide regional house builders and developers with flexible funding that helps them deliver their business objectives.”

The development is designed as an extension to the existing town in terms of character, while contemporary architecture and a simple palette of materials gives its own unique sense of place.

The site borders an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so the designs sensitively complement the natural surroundings. A generous area of public open space at the centre of the development provides a focal point and will incorporate a children's play area. This links with the site's entrance via a tree-lined boulevard, while extensive landscaping, including a buffer of trees to the site boundary, helps it to blend with the surrounding landscape.

Edward Orr, Director at Generator Group said: “We are pleased to be moving ahead with the delivery of this key housing site that will deliver a significant number of high quality new homes for the local area. Felixstowe's housing needs continue to grow, particularly with ongoing expansion of the port. Our site occupies a prestigious location within the town on the edge of Old Felixstowe and close to the coast and countryside, so we expect homes here to be in high demand.”

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About Generator Developments:

Generator Developments is a mixed-use developer focussed on sourcing, planning and delivering residential and mixed-use development opportunities mainly in London and the Southern England. Generator is not a volume developer; it focuses on identifying a select number of projects to create a high-quality end product that will stand the test of time. Its highly skilled team works on a wide range of developments from small residential schemes to major regeneration projects.

Generator's expertise lies in taking challenging sites and making them viable and deliverable. It is Generator's flexible approach to development, both in terms of its skill set in all stages of the development process and its ability to tailor the partnering of sites to suit the needs of vendors that sets it apart from competitors.

About Wellesley Group:

Wellesley Group is a leading alternative finance platform, challenging attitudes in the property lending market, by enabling investors to make healthy returns on their capital in the form of attractive interest rates by connecting them with creditworthy borrowers seeking competitive sources of funding. The borrowers are medium size developers who need funding to build mid-market homes. Since 2013 Wellesley Group has enabled the development of more than 2,000 new family homes in England and Wales helping to address the shortage of mid-priced housing in the regions, less than 20% of Wellesley's loan portfolio is in London. In 2016 Wellesley supported the development of 822 new homes and provided average investment returns of 4.49% for over 14,000 investors. Wellesley borrows long and lends short with an average loan of 9 months and investment products are an average of 23 months.