Our ability to rationalise assets and exit deals profitably is typified by our work with this chain of adult gaming centres (AGC).
We initially purchased the assets of a business operating ACGs in and around London on behalf of a Gibraltar-based trust.
The business was acquired for £4.5m plus obligations amounting to a further £3.3m from administrators Baker Tilly.
We signed a management contract with the previous owners, but two months later took full control.
The number of AGC premises was rationalised from 120 to 85, with our team orchestrating the exit from superfluous leases.
The right-sized business had a turnover of approximately £22 million and an EBITDA of around £4 million.
After negotiating the transactions and management agreements, the venture concluded successfully with the sale of the business to Marwyn Group for £15.4 million, generating substantial returns in just 14 months, with Toby Hunter remaining as a director until final payout 22 months thereafter.
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Having been engaged to run Discovery Park in Kent and manage the asset on a day-to-day basis, the Maritime Capital team then spent almost a year transforming the acquired business into an efficiently run property company.
One major challenge was that more than 150 businesses and organisations on the site were being charged all-inclusive rents.
Service charges were bundled in the rental price, making it difficult to assess the true capital value of the park.
We set to work formulating properly structured service charges, calculating for the first time how much was being spent delivering each service.
Discovery Park’s tenants were then all transferred to rent-only contracts, with separate service charge agreements.
The implementation of efficient management systems, as well as lease restructures and educating existing employees on property knowledge, all allowed for much more accurate data to be gathered and recorded on a regular basis.
This transformation allowed for lending parties to understand the asset in greater detail, making the site much more saleable and leading to a £20m loan facility being made available.
This was a demanding, engaging project that greatly expanded our capabilities - and from an initial capital value of £20 million, Discovery Park was valued at more than £75m at the end of our two-year engagement.
Maritime had the vision and foresight to transform a 100-year old former county hall into a boutique 24-bedroom and suite hotel, with an associated 12-apartment development to the rear.
As well as developing the hotel in the centre of Reading, Maritime owned and operated the hotel for several years.
Built in 1911, The Forbury was originally Berkshire County Council’s Shire Hall and had been converted for commercial use after the council moved out in 1981.
Maritime recognised the commercial potential in creating a luxurious hotel property, and restored the building to its former glory.
The Forbury was the result of much thought and research by our highly experienced team.
Designed by award-winning interior designer Nicholas Hollingshead, the 24 bedrooms and suites blended design, art, lighting and sound to create a space marketed as the UK’s leading townhouse hotel.
Described by an Evening Standard reviewer as ‘The most luxurious hotel stay I have ever stayed in’, its location, close to Reading railway station and high-end destinations such as Ascot Racecourse, added to the appeal.
The Maritime team were on site for 18 months to supervise craftsmen as they retained many of the building’s original features in the new design, from fireplaces and marble floors to the ornate ironwork of the old lift.
Designers, artists and craftsmen were commissioned to provide original works of art and features in the hotel, with two restaurants and its own 30-seat cinema adding to its grandeur.
Known by its current owners as The Roseate Reading, the hotel is still undoubtedly the finest address in town and showcases Maritime’s ability to develop luxury hospitality spaces in previously untapped markets.
After initially becoming an investor, Maritime acquired and revitalised a storage business, implementing successful rebranding and management strategies, resulting in a significant increase in occupancy rates.
Toby Hunter was introduced to Alfa Self Storage in northern Surrey during the course of landlord-tenant relations and, following discussions, invested in the business.
Alfa was operated on a joint-venture basis, with Toby and Maritime becoming responsible for supplying future sites.
Toby subsequently took over the business, acquiring it from administrators, along with the property, rebranding it as Storage Box.
The site provided a versatile, cost-effective solution for both residential and business customers’ storage needs, with lockable, steel-partitioned units that could be rented for as long as required.
Customers had the freedom to access their unit seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Rent could be arranged by the week or month, with no long-term commitment.
A full rebranding exercise was carried out, along with a refit of the shop and the introduction of new management and marketing processes.
Our overhaul led to an increase in occupation rates from 63% to 91%.
Once the business was profitable and trading well it was then sold for £4.9 million, representing a considerable profit for Maritime.
One of the most demanding projects that Maritime have undertaken was also one of the most rewarding.
Having initially been instructed to evaluate a four-star hotel business, create value and provide an exit for investors, Maritime ultimately took over the day-to-day running of hotel operations over the course of a four-year instruction.
Maritime has a long track record in hospitality, having previously owned and managed, constructed and leased hotels across the UK.
Acting on behalf of a 120-strong investor group, we produced an initial report that analysed the asset, a hotel estate on the Yorkshire coast north of Whitby, calculating its value and suggesting refinancing options.
In March 2019 Maritime was then given a board position, providing us with further access to company data.
Our subsequent analysis uncovered poor financial practices, and in order to avoid it falling into administration, Maritime took over 75% of the company and began managing the company on behalf of the lenders.
What had begun as an initial review quickly escalated to reveal serious financial issues, and it became apparent that there was a strong prospect of the lenders not getting their money back.
We then reviewed where trade and revenue streams could be improved, and presented proposals to the 120 individual lenders to build a holiday village on the site, which would enhance the saleability of the asset.
In 2018 Raithwaite Sandsend had obtained a non-implemented planning permission for 190 holiday homes. Work needed to begin within three years to secure the permission, and the lending group agreed with our contention that ‘developing out’ was the best way of exiting the position.
We worked with architects on designs for the village scheme and engaged consultants to overcome pre-commencement planning conditions.
Just as finances were improving, the Covid pandemic struck.
More than 120 hotel staff were furloughed, and limited turnover and a negative balance sheet meant that conventional lending facilities were unavailable to us.
Maritime sought Government CBILS and British Enterprise Fund loans in order to create cashflow to allow the business to continue trading.
A luxury six-bed lakeside accommodation unit on the estate was sold to a private buyer, and Maritime also lent £1.2million to the business and deferred fees until the end of the project.
Once lockdown and Covid precautions were eased, the hotel began trading well.
2021 was a bumper year, with more than 95 per cent occupancy rates achieved.
We then took on the management of the hotel itself, replacing the existing management company. This allowed us to review the business on a truly granular level. Maritime implemented a full rebrand and brought in a new marketing strategy to grow and reposition the target audience, all of which boosted trading performance.
The asset was performing well by the end of 2021, but Brexit and inflation hugely increased costs and made it difficult to fill roles.
High staff turnover, with a reliance on employment agencies, at times led to a literal hands-on approach from the Maritime team.
Maritime also had to manage investor relations throughout this period, with a number of technical legal disputes within the group.
Ultimately the decision was made to sell Raithwaite Sandsend on the open market. Experts calculated a guide price of £12 million, and in May 2023 a £12.65 million deal was agreed with Galliard Homes and O’Shea Group.
These reputable developers have now begun implementing the Raithwaite Village scheme and improving the hotel.
The outcome was the best that the investor group could have realistically hoped for.
Importantly, the hotel stayed open and fully staffed during and after the pandemic period, thanks to a lifeline loan facility provided by Maritime.
The project was an extraordinary learning curve, and possibly the biggest task we have undertaken thus far.
Maritime were involved in every facet of the business, with our expertise proving crucial in areas such as property, employment, corporate, contract and banking law.
We oversaw the day-to-day running of the hotel, managing a team of 120 people and continuously reviewing where operations could be improved.
Cashflow management was absolutely key, and our knowledge of administration and litigation processes was extensively utilised.
We also worked closely with architects to redevelop the hotel and formulate the Village scheme.
A number of planning permissions were also obtained, including a 30-bedroom extension and five woodland suites.
This challenging engagement has informed and enhanced all of our subsequent investments, providing the Maritime team with invaluable experience across the widest possible range of sectors.
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Our estate management expertise and capacity for problem-solving proved their value as we turned around the fortunes of a landed estate in Lancashire.
Maritime were engaged by a private family to help them optimise the finances of a large estate, inherited through generations, that was producing very little income and little capital for them.
Valuable assets like this sometimes lack the liquidity to generate sufficient income for their own upkeep, and we were instructed to provide professional advice on potential planning schemes and the profitability of selling some of the land for development.
Our close-knit, experienced family team were able to silo the estate’s assets into various classes to help the owners understand where there were options to create income and capital, exploring opportunities for diversification and identifying untapped revenue streams on the estate.
This ongoing instruction involves assessing proposed developer options as well as investigating planning laws and uses, in order to maximise value from the estate.
Years of experience mean that we have become experts at preserving an asset’s heritage, while also protecting wealth and unearthing hidden potential.
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True placemaking means creating mixed communities, where commerce, leisure and residential all sit happily together.
Our work on Old Vicarage Place epitomises our commitment to the concept.
Situated in the Cornish town of St Austell, Old Vicarage Place shopping centre was built in the early 1980s.
The western side of the shopping centre abutted a site that had been earmarked for a major regeneration scheme by the South West Regional Development Authority - and we saw a number of opportunities to add value and create synergies between their scheme and our asset.
The roof of Old Vicarage Place was originally occupied by a car park that was no longer in use.
We developed plans to build a new exciting ‘adventure’ hotel on the space to accommodate visitors to St Austell, as well as building a new indoor and outdoor arts entertainment venue for exhibitions, music and other performances.
In parallel, the RDA's White River Place regeneration scheme meant that the toilet areas within Old Vicarage Place Shopping became vacant.
We saw this as an opportunity to redevelop the toilets and to relocate a number of tenants from neighbouring lock-up units to enable the redevelopment of this part of the shopping centre, as well as creating a single retail/activity unit.
Within this unit an area was created for an internal climbing wall along with retail concessions specialising in outdoor sports equipment such as climbing, walking, cycling and fishing.
Separate to these plans, permission was sought for an outdoor market located to the rear of 19-21 Fore Street for the sale of fresh Cornish produce.
The remaining common areas of Old Vicarage Place were redecorated and refurbished to complement the RDA’s exciting White River Place regeneration scheme, before the centre was sold for an excellent return on our investment.
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Maritime have played a major role in the regeneration of Europe’s largest science park, managing the day-to-day running of the site and creating a strategic masterplan for its ongoing development.
Discovery Park in Sandwich, Kent, is a global leader for science and enterprise, with world-class laboratories and exceptional office space.
The site has a track record for drug research and development stretching back to the 1950s.
Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant, spent almost a billion pounds developing the campus, but for commercial reasons had reduced their workforce to a skeleton staff, leaving much of the site available for other commercial uses.
The 230-acre Discovery Park site has 3 million sq ft of buildings, warehouses, laboratories and office space, which meant other businesses and organisations could move in to take advantage of the site and its infrastructure.
The original developers bought the site from Pfizer for a pound, converting some of the laboratory space into offices and creating the beginnings of a commercial campus.
Our clients then bought Discovery Park for £20 million and in February 2017 Maritime Capital were appointed asset managers, with Toby Hunter appointed CEO and Max Hunter heading up the investment team.
Over the course of a challenging and rewarding two-year engagement, Maritime developed exciting new areas and developed sustainability and placemaking initiatives, including a retail park, vertical farm and drug manufacturing facilities.
A development site to the south of the park which had planning permission for 500 homes was also purchased for £10 million.
We directly managed a team of 150 people that maintained the entire Discovery Park campus, providing logistical services to tenants such as pharmaceutical companies, dynamic start-ups and scientific research enterprises.
Part of our work involved finding tenants to lease office and lab space, as well as servicing existing tenants on the park.
We quickly became au fait with the needs of scientific and research businesses, dealing with matters such as science-grade building management and water filtration systems.
But unusually, the purchase agreement also included the site’s autonomous water, power and heating networks, with all of the attendant pipes, wires and infrastructure.
The project saw us running a wastewater treatment plant, sewage system and power network, significantly expanding our skillset.
Maritime Capital also made a major investment in an energy service company (ESCO) that runs a biomass combined heat and power plant selling renewable heat and electricity to the park.
All surplus energy is then sold to the electricity grid to power homes across the region.
Within the period of our strategic asset management, the site went from a capital value of £20m to more than £75m.
Discovery Park continues to be at the forefront of innovation, from pioneering life science research to developing new antibiotics and diagnostics and unlocking the potential of immunotherapy and immuno-oncology.
Maritime is now solely focused on developing the Discovery Park masterplan, whilst retaining our flourishing investment in Kent Renewable Energy.
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This short-term asset review and acquisition project saw us negotiate a substantially reduced purchase price for our client.
Maritime were recognised as key stakeholders in the Kent region due to our significant role at Discovery Park, and we were subsequently approached by the buyer with a vision to convert a prominent site in Dover into a technology campus.
The historic Citadel complex, a former 18th-century fort owned by the Ministry of Justice, had been used as a prison, borstal and immigration detention centre before being decommissioned in 2015.
Maritime were instructed to help purchase the historic 70-acre site from the MOJ.
The client had little commercial property experience and needed our specialist backing to prove his viability.
We reviewed the asset and gave proof of funding to the buyer, who presented his plan to transform the UK's largest Napoleonic-era fortress into a cultural and innovative hub to UK government officials.
After initially being offered to the wider market, Maritime managed to position the client as the preferred bidder.
We then began negotiations with the MOJ over the purchase price.
Its location on one of the highest points in Dover and previous use as a detention facility were hindering its development as a practical, functional commercial space.
We recognised that many millions would need to be spent redeveloping the 54-building brownfield site, potentially compromising the feasibility of the whole project.
Our thorough review of The Citadel’s asbestos register also gave us leverage in the negotiations, and we succeeded in agreeing an initial acquisition price substantially below the guide price.
Maritime’s specialist team also negotiated the elimination of an overage clause which could have made the development unfeasible.
Once the purchase price had been agreed, we mentored the client through the legal process, ultimately resulting in a successful purchase.
As part of our 18-month engagement further instructions were then given to help develop the masterplan, ensuring the feasibility of the scheme and the potential for profitability.
The Citadel’s owners have since obtained initial planning applications and grant funding to restore the heritage of the site, and to develop it into a world-leading business and leisure park over the coming years.
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Our ownership of the Dreamland amusement park undoubtedly enhanced and broadened our skillset, giving us in-depth experience of retaining iconic assets and negotiating with governmental organisations.
Dreamland is a real symbol of the seaside town of Margate and in its heyday the park attracted thousands of visitors to enjoy the rides, amusement and activities.
But by the early 2000s visitor numbers had begun to decline, with rides sold to other theme parks and areas falling into disrepair.
We initially bought the Dreamland site in 2005 after the park had closed.
Recognising the long and proud tradition of Dreamland as the heart and soul of Margate, we developed sympathetic plans to reimagine how the site could be used by the community.
Our proposals for Dreamland included a 500+ unit residential development along with a mixed-use scheme involving markets, recreational gardens, shops and a digital media studio, centred around the Grade II-Listed Scenic Railway, one of the oldest wooden rollercoasters in the world.
The Scenic Railway’s status meant it could not be moved, and we designed the development with the rollercoaster as its centrepiece.
We continued to work with key stakeholders to progress and adjust our plans, however the local council issued a Compulsory Purchase Order in 2012, with negotiations over compensation ultimately concluding in January 2022.
The CPO process involved a major planning inquiry, as well as working with local government bodies and the UK government.
Our custodianship of Dreamland also gave us a deep understanding of the valuation-compensation process and provided us with invaluable insights into Listed Building procedures.
While our remarkable plans for the site did not ultimately come to fruition, our involvement with such an iconic attraction and the experience gained from the post-CPO negotiations have ultimately benefited Maritime Capital and our investors.
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Maritime played a pivotal role in shaping a coastal development in North Yorkshire.
Having taken over the Raithwaite Sandsend hotel and estate in 2019, Maritime set about redesigning and optimising a non-implemented planning scheme.
While the previous scheme had good bones, the quality, layout and operational feasibility rendered the project financially and logistically unviable.
Pre-commencement planning conditions were also hampering the development.
Working with our professional team, Maritime curated a 198-unit luxury holiday village with a traditional Yorkshire village square at its heart.
The sustainable lodges, cottages and villas combined the privacy of a holiday home with the facilities of the Raithwaite hotel building elsewhere on the estate.
With sustainability to the forefront, the eco homes were to be fully powered by renewable energy and included partnerships with sustainable brands such as Neptune Kitchens.
Each property had full access to Raithwaite’s manicured grounds and came complete with air source heat pumps and EV charging points.
The village was to be fully serviced with an on-site maintenance, housekeeping and concierge team and a range of service and hospitality packages designed for residents.
The full scheme envisioned shops, pubs and galleries - creating a genuine new coastal village at Raithwaite.
Our plans aimed to take the culture, history and heritage of the place and improve upon it sympathetically, so that the village sat within the landscape instead of on the landscape.
Maritime had the vision to ensure that the village positively benefited the area, rather than simply being another developer that puts houses with placemaking as an afterthought.
In late 2021 our team managed to release all of the pre-commencement conditions on the planning permission, and in December of that year the first phase of 21 units was put on sale.
The phase was fully sold within two weeks, at prices 20% higher than we were expecting.
However, inflation in the construction industry led to issues. Material prices soared, and labour shortages led to contractor quotes that were twice as high as expected.
Our experts had to value-engineer aspects of the project to make it a feasible development.
Work began on an initial four units, and all development was carried out in phases to avoid disrupting trade in the hotel.
Raithwaite Sandsend was then sold to Galliard Homes and O’Shea Group in 2023, who are currently taking all of our ideas forward.
Following our exit, it has been incredibly rewarding to see our vision taking shape on the North Yorkshire coast.
Showing real foresight and typifying our fusion of skills and expertise from a variety of sectors, Maritime Capital founder Toby Hunter’s Workhotel concept was a genuine world-first.
Described as the UK’s funkiest office brand, Workhotel was an uplifting working environment with the service levels, customer experience and flexibility of a top hotel.
The pioneering working/living scheme was aimed at clients who wanted a fast, efficient, reliable office space solution that was presented stylishly.
At the time, Workhotel had no competitor and was designed to give people a hub that combined aspects of working from home, working in an office, working from a hotel and working on the road.
The initial concept rose from the ashes of the Buncefield oil depot explosion, which presented Maritime with an opportunity to redevelop a previously owned, damaged, four-storey office unit situated on a nearby business park.
Toby’s groundbreaking idea was put into practice, mapping all of the positive reasons why people enjoy working in an office, working from home, working on the road or from a hotel and combining them all in one hub environment.
Workhotel occupied a prominent position in the heart of the Maylands Business Park, close to both the M1 and M25 motorways, enabling customers to access large and small rentable working spaces, meeting rooms, social areas and a restaurant.
The vibrant ‘Workkitchen’ complemented Workhotel wonderfully and gave guests and local diners somewhere to eat, relax and discuss business.
Not only did it improve the scope of office space in the industrial estate, it also offered Hemel Hempstead something fresh, exciting and an excellent place to eat and buy good food.
The concept of fully serviced offices and co-working spaces with expanded amenities has been mirrored in recent years by multi-billion pound start-ups, but Toby Hunter and Maritime Capital can be considered as trailblazers of the business model.
Workhotel’s success illustrates our ability to innovate in the market, spot an opportunity and use our decades of experience to coordinate and manage major projects.
Maritime’s vision and foresight has transformed a retail parade with vacant office space above into a highly successful mixed-use development.
The parade of 10 shops in central Gosport, Hampshire, was purchased directly by Maritime in April 2015 for £2.44m as an off-market acquisition.
Tenants included a variety of local and national retailers and there were 5,000 sq ft of vacant offices above, plus a service yard to the rear.
The site was producing a 10 per cent return, but thanks to our years of experience in development and investment we were able to see further potential in the large service yard and vacant offices in a prime town centre location.
One option envisioned a residential scheme with 20 apartments constructed on stilts over the car park, with another 30 flats occupying the office space, and all of the shops retained underneath.
We also looked at alternative users and started initial conversations with hotel operators.
Due to our long-standing relationship with Travelodge, they bought into the concept of a 70-room hotel.
However after analysing the development appraisal, the figures did not support situating the hotel in the unused office space.
After comprehensive risk-reward analysis, we were able to surrender some of the leases of tenants that had weaker covenants, negotiating on premiums to break their leases in order to demolish the central portion of the parade and let the space to Travelodge.
This allowed us to regain the upper parts and expand the shop units of those tenants with stronger covenants.
Planning permission was granted for a 70-bedroom budget hotel scheme with a new A3 retail unit.
A pre-letting agreement with Travelodge allowed us to access forward funding for a value of £6.6m, which secured us a purchase price and binds the operator in for a 25-year period.
Maritime’s links with Travelodge mean that the hotel building was constructed according to their exact specifications. To ensure timely delivery we engaged approved construction firms who had worked on similar projects.
The development took place without affecting all of the site’s existing income stream, and the hotel has become one of the best-performing in the Travelodge chain.
Maritime Capital also retained the two end properties of the parade as separate assets. At 17 High Street, a development of 12 flats above the retail space is ongoing, while No.8 has received planning permission for 21 units.
This highly-successful outcome demonstrates Maritime’s ability to use priceless connections and problem solving to create value on a project.
We spotted a clear opportunity to create value, using our extensive network of contacts and market insight.
After running and managing the wider Discovery Park site in Kent, we carried out a review of adjoining unused land just off the A256 to sort best value potential within the asset.
We determined that a retail park and service area would be an astute fit and would add genuine amenity for residents, workers and travellers alike.
The Maritime team worked up interest with potential occupiers for what would become ‘Discovery Park Services’.
We first secured a filling station retailer, which would drive the most traffic on to the site. EuroGarages purchased land from us in the site’s prime position to develop a petrol station and Starbucks drive-thru.
This then enabled us to sell the next tranche of land to McDonald’s, who constructed a drive-thru restaurant on the site.
Through our own experience of hotel developments, we recognised that the site was perfect for a budget hotel operator.
Due to its proximity to Discovery Park there was a strong business case for accommodation, with thousands of workers on the site as well as leisure visitors to coastal attractions nearby.
Thanks to our strong connections with operators, a deal was agreed with Travelodge for a 25-year lease, which is subject to a fixed CPI review.
Working closely with the council and utilising our in-depth knowledge of the planning system, an application was approved for a 75-bedroom hotel.
Again, through the strength of our own relationships and understanding the strength of this type of product, a forward funding deal was agreed for a price of £6.7m.
Construction coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a period of financial uncertainty for Travelodge, which meant that the process had to be closely managed throughout by the team.
Maritime’s razor-sharp ability to handle property projects of this complexity ensured a profitable conclusion to the overall scheme.
Maritime takes pride in adding to the prosperity and social pride of communities in which it invests.
We boast a track record of regeneration and placemaking that can change the perception of a town, and The Grove Market in Eltham is a prime example of this philosophy.
The asset was an early 1960s, run-down concrete carbuncle, with a parade of shops on the ground floor and maisonettes above.
The site had become a much-discussed local eyesore and anti-social behaviour hotspot on Eltham High Street, in the London borough of Greenwich.
We obtained the property with a 40% vacancy rate, and over time bought the long leaseholds of the maisonettes to secure vacant possession.
In turn the shops were let on very short leases, which could have been seen as problematic if we were simply holding the asset as a straight investment, but it was actually a benefit for our future plans for redevelopment.
Our aim was to regenerate the now-vacant site by providing a sustainable mixed-use development, offering much-needed housing in the centre of the town and to adding vitality to the area.
Working closely with our architect partners at DLA, we created a 129-unit mixed-use scheme including three restaurants, a cafe, convenience store, GP surgery and pharmacy.
Our passion for placemaking also makes sound business sense, and The Grove was then sold on to Cathedral Group, who have since implemented a major residential scheme to great acclaim.
Grove Place now has pride of place in central Eltham, providing new homes, retail and open spaces, removing an eyesore and stimulating the local economy, adding to the prosperity and social pride of a rapidly regenerating town.
We acquired the Bear Lanes Shopping Centre in Newtown below its current market value due to the property being acquired in a portfolio purchase.
Built in 1989, the 40,750 square foot property forms a core part of the town centre and has 20 shop units.
Having completed a lengthy due diligence on the mix of retail in the shopping centre and the surrounding area, we foresaw the potential for a large clothing shop.
Our background and experience in retail investment means we’re able to curate the right mix of shops to encourage footfall.
We approached New Look to provide a vibrant new outlet in the centre, as we felt that the retail offer had become a little tired in Newtown.
With a smart refurbishment of several units, creating a large single unit, we were able to let the new unit to New Look for a 10-year term.
Their anchor presence encouraged other retailers to come on board, which created stable income.
As well as providing an excellent income stream, New Look’s 10-year covenant also strengthened the overall parade's stability.
The centre was sold on the open market, which would have been financially unviable without our hard work to refurbish and regenerate the asset.
We refurbished a prominent 1920s building in the heart of historic Walsall, developing a residential scheme in vacant office space that exceeded market expectations.
The asset, a four-storey mock Tudor building with a terrace of four ground-floor retail units, was obtained with vacant possession of the upper parts.
The retail units were fully let and producing an excellent return.
Having conducted thorough due diligence on the Walsall housing market at the time of purchase, we could see there was good value to be made in the vacant offices.
Walsall was undergoing a period of regeneration, and our residential scheme was targeted at young West Midlands professionals looking for their first home, allowing them to live outside of the city centre and commute into Birmingham, taking advantage of the more cost-effective property market in Walsall.
We refurbished the offices into an 18-flat development, creating an attractive product that sold exceptionally well.
We offered various effective financial incentives to swiftly sell the 18 units to our target demographic, at prices in excess of 50% higher than local property professionals had said we could achieve
This strategy also strengthened the retail investment by removing the draining empty rates from the vacant office space.
Following the successful sale of the residential portion of the asset, we then sold the retail units, exiting the 18-month project with a considerable profit for our clients.
Our years of experience means that Maritime have developed an unmatched ability to understand, recognise and acquire productive assets that other investors may simply pass over.
It’s all about the financing of the deal, recognising its eventual value, understanding the desire to occupy and appreciating the aesthetic of the buildings.
Being able to perceive the curb appeal in those environments, when the retailers rely on curb appeal, is key.
We appreciate that small changes can make major differences to the financial success of a project, and three boutique shopping developments in regional market towns perfectly illustrate this point.
Firstly, we identified a small mews of retail units in Cornwall that we felt offered enormous potential.
Situated in the centre of Truro, just to the east of the cathedral and the city’s prime retail streets, St Marys Mews was purchased with the view of holding it as a straight investment.
We revitalised the mews, renovating its external appearance and introducing new tenants.
Our proactive asset management quickly added 40 per cent to the value, which enabled us to refinance after just nine months.
The shopping parade produced a good income stream during our three-year ownership, after which it was sold at a profit.
Further north, Maritime also purchased Stow-on-the-Wold’s boutique Church Street parade of shops with a 30% vacancy rate.
Church Street is situated between the well-known Cotswold village’s high street and the main square, and consequently experienced high footfall of tourists and locals.
With this main benefit in mind, the Maritime team could see that by altering the mix of retailers and implementing a new signage and planting scheme, the street could thrive again.
Subsequently the street became 80% let and was sold on for a significant profit.
Another parade in the Cotswold village of Broadway had similarities to Stow on the Wold, and was subsequently packaged together to sell in a small portfolio, creating a premium through the character of two smart Cotswold schemes.
Again, we recognised the large amount of footfall that this asset was subject to, and with some hands-on day-to-day management, the investment was re-energised.
In all three cases previous owners had been a little frugal with their refurbishment plans. We improved the visual aesthetics, making them more attractive to tenants and creating value for our investors through higher rental incomes and impressive sale prices.
Our aptitude for recognising unseen potential and secondary value is exemplified by this project in Newbury, Berkshire.
Given the large service yard and car park that came with this high street retail shop, we could immediately see a development opportunity..
Situated in central Newbury the retail parade, with Iceland as its anchor tenant, was burdened with an unsightly 1960s office block on the first floor.
In order to stabilise income from the retail unit and create more frontage for another retail unit, we made the decision to demolish the offices above.
This removed the empty rates, and allowed us to create 15 more car parking spaces to the rear.
The removal of the ground floor office entrance allowed us to create another valuable shop unit and we were then able to renegotiate a lease with Iceland, taking into account the increased number of parking spaces to the rear, creating a much stronger investment.
The previous owners had only seen a complicated, empty 1960s office building with car parking for the office building and the Iceland store.
What they had missed was the opportunity to remove the offices and build over the whole site, creating the conditions for a potential residential scheme.
We obtained planning permission for a new scheme containing 25,000 sq ft of residential and 15,000 sq ft of retail, allowing us to sell the site with a massive premium on its purchase price, due to its increased value to developers.
A major residential scheme has now been implemented on the site.
Maritime completely revitalised a loss-making portfolio, restructuring and refinancing and winning a legal battle to transform it into a highly profitable residential property business.
We worked closely with a north London family who had regrettably fallen into a difficult relationship with a high street bank, after they were sold a series of unfavourable swap deals.
The family-run business was operated on traditional lines, with paper files and no centralised system to help them run a £60m portfolio of London residential properties with around 600 tenants.
Family members each ran separate parts of the business, but there were no clear lines of communication.
The portfolio was chronically under-performing, and the lack of up-to-date systems meant it was difficult to collect rents, invoice efficiently, conduct maintenance and log any problems.
Due to interest rate changes the business was struggling to service the debt and was perilously close to failure.
The portfolio required a complete financial restructure with an alternative lender.
Once engaged, we performed a thorough review and analysis of all the properties and implemented operating and management systems to properly manage the assets.
We managed to clear arrears from specific tenants and analysed every building to boost rents, performance and capital value.
Through a lengthy due diligence process and the integration of a new analytical management system the portfolio was successfully placed with an alternative lender.
Our work completely transformed the business from loss-making into a highly profitable, viable portfolio.
Simultaneously, we argued that many of the swap deals associated with the portfolio had been missold, and there was a claim for liability.
Previously, many banks had encouraged customers to take out swap deals without their full understanding of the product and its potential financial implications if interest rates fell.
We sought and engaged specialist legal partners, built a dialogue with the bank and arranged a series of meetings between the parties, presenting the best case possible for the client.
We managed to successfully argue down their swap debt liability by 75%, agreeing a deal for several million pounds in compensation.
Our in-depth knowledge of banking, finance and planning helped us turn around the fortunes of a £50m family-run portfolio.
We were instructed by a private investor to aid in the refinancing of his investments, including restructuring £30m of RBS loans.
In the process of expanding their portfolio they had inadvertently built outside of planning consents and were coming under pressure from their banking partners.
Maritime therefore needed to resolve the planning issues and introduce a new lending partner.
The family initially required advice and support on how to communicate their position and their plan to RBS, and reach a compromise solution.
The complexities and subtleties of financial terminology meant that they had until that point been unsuccessful in their discussions with the bank, and were unable to convey a workable plan to assuage their concerns.
Maritime acted as a conduit, holding meetings with both parties and creating an action plan that satisfied the bank that the family would be able to meet their obligations.
Our work gave the family a full understanding of the bank’s position and made all parties comfortable that the difficulties would be resolved.
Over the course of several months, the planning issues were rectified, and the portfolio’s debt with RBS was restructured.
This consultancy role is a great example of our wide-ranging knowledge and experience, in this case incorporating UK banking system procedures, planning and development regulations and the valuations process.
The family’s property portfolio continues to thrive, thanks to Maritime’s involvement on a consultancy basis.
