Global investor Starlight Investments secures £45m loan to complete 31-storey residential tower in Princes Dock at Liverpool Waters. Tony McDonough reports

Canadian investor Starlight Investments has secured a £45m loan from Maslow Capital to complete a 31-storey residential tower on Liverpool waterfront.

In February LBN reported Liverpool developer X1 was taking over the £50m Patagonia Place in Princes Dock, Liverpool Waters after a previous developer pulled out on two occasions. It acquired the site from Peel L&P.

In March last year LBN exclusively revealed that Your Housing Group (YHG) was pulling out of the project to build the 278-apartment scheme. YHG had originally pulled out in 2018 before getting back on board.

Now Starlight, which has a North American property portfolio worth more than £20bn, is to take on Patagonia Place which is a build-to-rent scheme (BTR) with a development value of £50m. It will retain X1 as development manager.

Comprising a mix of studios and one, two and three-bedroom apartments, the scheme is being acquired by a Starlight-led institutional partnership as part of a forward purchase agreement.

Along with the purchase of two other projects in Manchester and Ashford it forms part of Starlight’s strategy to acquire UK property assets worth around £600m.

Commercial and leisure space will be catered on the ground floor of Patagonia place which will join a row of existing residential towers in Princes Dock. These include Moda Living’s £82m, 34-storey skyscraper, the Lexington, and the £21m 16-storey Plaza 1821.

It will also sit next to No 1 Princes Dock, a residential block that was completed more than a decade ago.

Daniel Drimmer, founder and chief executive at Starlight Investments, said: “Our venture into the UK’s dynamic build-to-rent market, commencing with this landmark project, signifies a strategic expansion backed by our robust North American portfolio.

“Securing support from a trusted partner such as Maslow is a testament to the alignment between our shared goals.

“This £45m financing not only accelerates our initial expansion into the UK housing market but also strengthens our commitment to addressing the pressing housing needs in the region.”