Lloyds Banking Group has successfully sold £1billion of its debt - including its liabilities at The Cube in Birmingham - to Lone Star Funds.
The part-publically funded banking group had been looking to sell off the debt secured against £700m of property assets known as ‘Project Royal’.
It is believed the sale to the Dallas-based fund is being backed by £300m of senior debt from the Royal Bank of Canada and Citigroup.
The Cube, which was placed under the control of administrators at the request of Lloyds in March 2010, has enjoyed significant success in the past 18 months and is one of the key properties in the Project Royal portfolio.
The building was originally developed by Alan Chatham’s Birmingham Development Company but was placed into a new vehicle, Aruna, following the administration.
Since then, under the guidance of former BDC director Neil Edginton, it has secured a number of restaurants including Marco Pierre White grill, a hotel, club and spa and an Adee Phealan salon as well as letting much of its commercial space.
Aruna will remain as the owner of the scheme although Lone Star, as the new debt provider, will effectively take over legal control.
However, it is likely that the building will remain in administration for the time being.
