The final step is now in place for a £15.8m development of 61 homes at Middleton St George.

Maven Capital Partners, a leading UK property and private equity manager, has raised £6.26m to fund Oak Meadows, a new-build family home development in conjunction with Calmont Homes expected to be completed by 2024.

The deal includes £1.76m from Maven Investor Partners, and £4.5m from PBLT, a trust managed by Newcastle specialists Tier One Capital.

Brendan O’Grady, Fund Manager at PBLT added: “There is a real vibrancy about the town following announcements of government departments moving to Darlington as part of the government’s levelling up ambitions alongside the well documented investment being made into Teesside Airport, which is generating great interest and attracting people to the area who will be looking for high quality modern homes.”

The Oak Meadows site, four miles from Darlington, was granted planning permission in 2019, and the total development cost of the project is expected to be £15.8m. Once complete, it will have three, four and five-bedroomed homes, ranging in size from 950 sq ft to 1,850 sq ft.

The deal shows the strength of the North-East property market, which has performed strongly during 2020 and has continued into 2021 despite the Covid-19 pandemic, driven principally by changes in customer behaviour and supported by government assistance schemes such as furlough and the stamp duty holiday. The outlook is similarly positive at a regional level with Savills forecasting 20% growth in house prices over the next five years in the region.

Paul Johnston, a Partner at Maven, said: “We are delighted to partner with both Calmont and Tier One again, having worked successfully with each of them on previous projects. This is a unique development in Middleton St George which I’m sure will be well received by home purchasers and we look forward to seeing the development progress.”

Ben Hall, Director at Calmont, said: “Thanks to this investment by PBLT, arranged by Tier One, we are able to bring high quality, bespoke family homes to this lovely tree lined site.  The properties will be marketed through local agent Nick Carver.”