£180m Tristan loan backs BGO’s Oxford life science project

BGO and joint venture partner Mission Street have obtained a senior £180 million loan through Tristan Capital Partners to finance a portfolio of life science assets in Oxford and Cambridge.

Tristan arranged the loan on behalf of the TIPS One Debt Fund.

The loan is secured against three properties in Oxford and Cambridge totalling 300,000 sq ft of lab and office space for life science occupiers. The loan will fund the continued lease-up of two newly developed assets and the development and fit-out of a new purpose-built project which will be the first commercial science project in the UK to target BREEAM Outstanding accreditation.

Construction of Fabrica, a 135,000 sq ft development, will commence in early 2025 and it will be the first life science building to be delivered in Oxford’s West End. The project is part of BGO and Mission Street’s 1.5 million sq ft life sciences development pipeline in the ‘Golden Triangle’ formed by Oxford, Cambridge and London. 

“This financing is a continuation of our strategy of lending to sponsors with proven track-records of value creation and sector expertise,” said Tristan Capital Partners’ head of debt investment Dan Pottorff. He added that the loan to BGO is Tristan’s largest to date and brings the annual total of debt investments deployed in the UK and Europe to c.€470 million. 

Tristan Capital Partners was advised by BCLP and BGO by Taylor Wessing. JLL acted as financing adviser to BGO.