Irwin Mitchell Advises On The Deal

Law firm Irwin Mitchell has advised Sheffield based New Era Developments (NED) in relation to its new £27 million banking facilities which will support the continuing development of its student accommodation.

Established in 2000, New Era Developments recently completed Phase 1 of New Era Square which provides state of the art accommodation for students. 

The new funding from Barclays will enable NED to complete Phase 2 of the development which will take the number of student beds to 656, in addition to the provision of leisure and office accommodation positioned around an impressive central square.

New Era Developments employs fifteen people locally and completion of New Era Square is expected to create around 400 jobs.

Jerry Cheung, Managing Director of New Era Developments said: “Building New Era Square in the heart of Sheffield has been an amazing journey and we’re thrilled that Barclays has been able to support this development, enabling us to complete our vision of delivering fantastic student accommodation for a vibrant and thriving community. Phase 2 of the development will include a Chinese Incubator Unit which is expected to provide significant inward investment from China and will see a partnership in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University once complete.”

Law firm Irwin Mitchell advised New Era Developments on the deal with both Dean Gormley, Banking & Finance partner, and Andrew Wallis, Real Estate partner, leading the team.

Ashley Airey, Barclays Property Relationship Director put together the funding package for the deal and said: “This is our first step in to the student accommodation market with Jerry and his team and we are delighted that Phase 1 is already complete. We have a great track record in the property sector and we’ve worked hard to understand the specific needs of the project in collaboration with local stakeholders. This enabled us to provide a tailored funding package to help build one of Sheffield’s newest student accommodation offerings as well as allowing us to add value by way of the introduction of a ‘pop-up’ branch to assist incoming students open UK bank accounts on arrival.”