Vengrove Limited, the real estate investment management firm, has been given an £8.5 million senior loan to finance the development of a logistics scheme at Agecroft Commerce Park, Salford.

The speculative development loan was provided by the North West Evergreen Fund to Vengrove, which was established in 2013 to generate superior risk adjusted returns through investing in commercial real estate.

Construction commenced in September, with Barnfield Construction appointed as main contractor to deliver two logistics units, collectively known as “Evolution”, on the Agecroft Commerce Park. The scheme is due complete in Q3 2018. The development site is currently brownfield land and once complete and operational, will provide 200,000 sq ft of energy efficient space, estimated to create over 250 jobs. Savills, DTRE and BC Real Estate have been retained by Vengrove to market the units for occupation.

The North West Evergreen Fund is managed by CBRE’s Debt Investment Advisory team, part of CBRE Capital Advisors, and provides debt funding for commercial property and regeneration projects in the North West of England.

This loan is the Evergreen’s sixteenth since inception as the Fund continues to support development in the region. It has provided over £200 million of finance, recycling and reinvesting its capital and supporting developments with a combined value of over £1billion. The Fund was recently re-capitalised to over £100 million and continues to support North-West developments that require finance.

Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, said: “This loan embodies Evergreen’s objective of supporting the development of employment space in the North West, creating infrastructure we need for inward investment and economic growth. It is really pleasing this this development will create employment opportunities for more than 250 people and see Greater Manchester thrive further.”