£1.3m loan to real estate firm supports maiden acquisition in Scotland – Scottish Business News

OAKNORTH, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, has completed a £1.3m loan to Caissa Holdings, in support of its first commercial property acquisition in Scotland. The time-critical deal was completed within a month, highlighting OakNorth’s execution and delivery capability.

Caissa Holdings, a private property investment and development group, founded in April 2021,  has built up a track record of owning and managing prime residential assets across the UK and Europe. The £1.3m loan from OakNorth will support the firm’s regional acquisition strategy via the purchase of a prominent five-storey building in central Glasgow. Located on Sauchiehall Street, the building is currently let to Waterstones and Flying Tiger and houses Scotland’s largest bookstore, which also contains event space and two cafes located in the basement and second floors, respectively.

The deal follows OakNorth’s expansion into Scotland with the opening of its new Glasgow office in summer last year to boost lending into Scottish SMEs.

Cambyz Golestaneh, Founder & CEO of Caissa Holdings, commented: “At Caissa, we take pride in delivering high quality property investment and development projects across the UK and continental Europe. This acquisition marked our first deal in Scotland, and we couldn’t have been more pleased with our choice of lender. Matteas and the wider team at OakNorth provided a level of flexibility, transparency and knowledge of the local area’s real estate market that was simply not offered by other lenders. We look forward to working with them again on our future Scottish-based projects.

Matteas Law, Associate Director of Debt Finance at OakNorth, added: “We are delighted to be partnering with Caissa Holdings on its first acquisition in Scotland. To be able to deliver the funding within the tight timescales required is extremely pleasing and testament to all involved, not least the client and its professional team. The regeneration of Sauchiehall Street coupled with Glasgow’s already strong retail offering should prove this to be a successful transaction for all involved. We look forward to building a strong relationship with Cambyz moving forward, as we look to back more businesses like his and support investment into Scotland over the long term.”