Atelier finances £10m redevelopment of Georgian mansion
The specialist lender Atelier has stepped in to save the £10m transformation of a sumptuous Georgian mansion in Bath into five luxury apartments.
Number 1 Sion Hill Place was built in 1818, during the reign of King George III, and was later home to the descendants of the travel entrepreneur Thomas Cook.
More recently the six-storey mansion, which is built from hand-cut, honey-coloured Bath stone and is the largest and most imposing building on Sion Hill Place – a street The Times ranked as among the six most desirable in the UK – housed a private school.
In 2018 an experienced local developer purchased the freehold and secured planning permission to transform the mansion into five homes. In late 2020 Atelier provided a refinancing facility to the developer, covering the acquisition cost and enabling refurbishment work to start.
However, by mid-2021 and following a series of lockdowns, the developer was experiencing financial difficulty with some of his other development schemes. Atelier stepped in to protect the Sion Hill Place scheme, and it was agreed that the developer would exit the project.
Recognising the double-fronted mansion’s huge potential, Atelier’s joint CEO Graham Emmett invited New Millennium Developments, a Bath-based developer specialising in the restoration and regeneration of period homes, to take on the project.
Graham Emmett, joint CEO at Atelier, commented: “Atelier had previously worked with New Millennium’s director Michael Rosser on the redevelopment of other Georgian homes in Bath, and he had shown himself to be a consummate professional with unmatched expertise in dealing with the unique challenges these precious historic buildings can pose.
“Michael has decades of experience in working with the beautiful Georgian homes that have made Bath a World Heritage Site, and we saw his skill first-hand in 2020 when he delivered several complex schemes on time and on budget, despite the lockdowns.
“He was therefore a natural choice to get 1 Sion Hill Place back on track, and we’re delighted to be working with him as the project enters the home straight.”
Atelier also teamed up with the mezzanine lender Davon to restructure and refinance the scheme, ultimately providing a senior and mezzanine package to New Millennium Developments for the project, which has a GDV of £9.9m.
The first three apartments, including a duplex penthouse across the building’s top two floors and valued at £2.25m, will be completed in July, with the remaining two due to be finished in September. The building retains many of its original features, including a grand entrance complete with sweeping stone staircase, solid mahogany doors and embellished cornices.
Elsewhere the design seamlessly blends the classical with the new, with all five homes featuring high-end kitchens and bathrooms, huge sash windows and moulded ceilings. The mature gardens have been thoughtfully remodelled to create a mixture of private terraces and secluded spaces.
Michael Rosser, director of New Millennium Developments, added: “1 Sion Hill Place was built as a country mansion in the city, and for two centuries it has been a beacon of Georgian grandeur and grace on one of Bath’s most exclusive streets.
“I jumped at the chance to work again with Atelier, on the transformation of the mansion into five beautiful homes that will stand the test of time, just like the original building. Graham and his team have financed other schemes I’ve built in Bath, and Atelier has proved itself to be a reliable, expert partner at every stage of the development journey.”