Leeds-based Reward Funding has completed a £360m re-finance as a key part of its strategy to increase its loan book to £500m in the next three years. Advised by Interpath, Reward has received a £100m debut private securitisation from an international bank, a £150m senior debt facility from Quilam Capital, together with £110m of new funding lines from existing partners Foresight and RMB. The deal partially refinances Reward’s incumbent debt facilities whilst also providing liquidity and enhanced flexibility – enabling the business to support its continued expansion. Nick Smith, group managing director for Reward, said: “Being able to bolster our credit lines by a further £360m is a hugely significant deal for the business and will also benefit those companies which rely on our support to fund expansion in challenging economic conditions. “It gives us such a strong foundation to achieve our goal of a £500m loan book within three years. “Our whole ethos is built around working closely with entrepreneurs and SMEs to fund their ambition and offer a fast, agile funding solution that enables them to seize opportunities when they arise. “This can only be made possible by the strength of our lending, and being on course to provide our busiest year of lending gives our new and existing clients that much-needed confidence and certainty in what remains an uncertain climate.” David Harrop, group finance director for Reward, said: “Successfully raising this level of institutional funding is a testimony to the business we have built at Reward. We look forward to working with our new and existing funding partners to provide further support to UK SMEs.” Jordan Blakesley, managing director at Quilam Capital, said: “Reward is a distinguished specialist lender that provides tailored asset-secured facilities to UK entrepreneurs and businesses. “Our relationship with management spans almost 10 years and we are delighted to be supporting Reward’s growth journey with the first senior credit transaction following the announcement of our strategic JV with J.P. Morgan earlier in the month.” Jack Dutton, director at Interpath, who led the transaction alongside Olivia Dunning and Niamh Valentine from Interpath’s Debt Advisory team, said: “We have worked closely with Reward to understand their operational model and put in place a capital strategy that would allow them to continue to offer the flexible, dependable, and rapid approach to funding which has given them a pivotal role in the funding landscape for the SME community. “It has been an absolute pleasure working with the team on this transformational financing, which introduces new institutional funding partners to the business.” Ashurst and Walker Morris acted as legal counsel to Reward.

Bruntwood SciTech is set to report a pre-tax loss of £163 million for the year ending September 30, 2024, largely due to a £148 million decline in property market valuations. Despite the loss, the joint venture—formed by Bruntwood, Legal & General, and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF)—has expanded its asset portfolio to £1.5 billion, including the addition of 29 city-centre properties.

The firm has reported a 10% like-for-like rental growth following a £500 million equity investment, with developments and refurbishments worth £314 million currently underway across 11 campus locations and 31 city-centre innovation hubs. Key projects include acquisitions in Manchester, redevelopment efforts in Leeds and Birmingham, and ongoing construction at multiple sites set for completion in 2025.

Bruntwood SciTech also secured several major tenants, including Auto Trader at No. 3 Circle Square in Manchester, UK Biobank at Greenheys in Manchester Science Park, and Corteva Agriscience at Melbourn Science Park. The company recently expanded into London, committing £200 million to a new innovation centre at Imperial College London’s White City Campus.

Despite valuation challenges, the company remains focused on long-term growth, expecting profits to rebound as market conditions stabilise.