The specialist property lender will support the acquisition of 110,000 sq ft of retail space, which will be demolished and replaced with 447 residential units by the property group.

Alongside the residential units — which comprise of a mixture of for sale and private rented sector housing— the scheme will deliver 43,200 sq ft of ground-floor retail at the Harvey Shopping Centre.

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“We are seeing an increasing number of opportunities to finance schemes where borrowers have recognised the potential to extract value from change of use, while at the same time playing a key role in the placemaking process that is underway in many urban centres across the UK,” said Ludo Mackenzie, head of commercial property at Octopus Property.

Santhosh Gowda, chairman at Strawberry Star Group, added: “Harlow, as one of the leading regional housing markets, is an important addition to our development pipeline."