Now raising — £500m Target Fund

Secured debt.
Real returns.
Real economy.

FDC — part of Mercia Asset Management — is raising a £500m UK Real Estate Development Debt fund. First charge security. Industrial and logistics focus. Nine years' track record with zero credit losses.

Fund at a glance
>10% IRR Target net return p.a.
£500m Target fund size
£1-30m Loan amounts
2 years Average loan duration
5 years Investment period
£400m+
Property finance under management
216 acres
Brownfield land regenerated
3.5m sqft
Commercial floorspace created
9 yrs
Zero credit losses since 2016

Development debt —
distinct, disciplined,
short-duration.

This is not real estate equity in disguise. When correctly structured, UK development debt is a private credit strategy and an average 2 year investment period.

01
Private credit, not property equity

Returns come from contractual interest, not asset appreciation. Development debt behaves like short-duration private credit — portfolio behaviour driven by structure and execution, not property market direction.

02
Structure is the risk control

Capital deployed only once planning is in place. First charge security. Developers commit equity ahead of first drawdown. Loans drawn against incurred costs — not as bullets — ensuring alignment throughout.

03
The mid-box opportunity

UK mid-sized industrial and logistics (20,000–100,000 sq ft) is in structural undersupply, underpinned by e-commerce and supply-chain reconfiguration. A sector FDC has backed — and understands — for a decade.

04
Capital recycling, not lock-up

~Average 2 year loan duration and a revolving 5 year investment period. Real asset exposure with predictable capital recycling — attractive for insurers, Local Government Pension Funds, Defined Benefit schemes and family offices alike.

FDC Real Estate
Development Debt
Strategy

A £500m proposed fund providing first charge secured development debt to experienced UK commercial property developers. Industrial and logistics focus, disciplined credit underwriting, brownfield-first.

>10%
Target net return p.a. (after management fees)
First Charge Security Brownfield First Industrial & Logistics UK Focus FCA Regulated
Term
Detail
Target Fund Size
£500 million
Target Net Return
>10% p.a. after fees
Management Fee
0.40% p.a.
Carried Interest
20% over BoE base rate + 2%
Fund Life
7 years
Investment Period
5 years (revolving)
Average Loan Term
2 years (max 5 years)
Typical Loan Size
£1m – £30m (max 10% of fund)
Security
First charge (senior) · Second charge (mezz) · Both with LTV headroom
Sector / Geography
Industrial & Logistics · UK · c.80% development / c.20% refurb
Income
Arrangement fees distributed monthly · Interest repaid at loan exit

Six reasons to believe.

Zero provisions in nine years

£400m+ deployed across residential, commercial and brownfield transactions since 2016. No credit losses. A record that speaks to the quality of origination and rigour of loan monitoring.

🏗
Deep sector specialism

Over a decade financing UK industrial and logistics development. We understand what it takes to get a scheme off the ground — and we move fast when high-street banks step back.

🏛
Mercia's institutional platform

FDC is part of Mercia Asset Management PLC and authorised by the FCA. Institutional governance, compliance and reporting infrastructure built for large-scale LP relationships.

📈
Proven deal pipeline

£350m+ lent under CIF and RIF. £105m in transactions at board approval or initial terms. Nine-plus years of developer relationships give us privileged access to high-quality, repeat borrowers.

🌱
ESG embedded from day one

216 acres of brownfield land regenerated. 8,604 jobs created. Majority of schemes delivered to EPC A or BREEAM Excellent. Brownfield-first isn't a marketing line — it's our origination lens.

Right fit for total portfolios

Short duration, first charge, contractual income. Suitable for insurers, LGPS pools, DB schemes and family offices seeking UK real asset exposure without long-dated equity risk or mark-to-market volatility.

Nine years.
Flawless credit history.

Fund
Size
IRR*
Commercial Investment Fund I & II (2016)
£140m
6.0%
Residential Investment Fund (2018/9)
£70m
5.2%
FDC Debt Fund (2020)
£25m
9.7%
WMCA Brownfield Housing Fund (2024)
£100m
Grant
Commercial Investment Fund Increase (2025)
£90m
Active

*IRR excl. arrangement fees. Including fees: CIF 8.71% · RIF 8.59% · FDC Debt Fund 12.9%

"No provisions across the loan funds since inception in 2016 — across a demanding range of residential, commercial and brownfield transactions."

From our existing funds, FDC has delivered measurable economic and environmental impact across the UK. The proposed new fund continues and scales this commitment.

216
Acres of brownfield land regenerated
3.5m
Sq ft of commercial floorspace created
8,604
Jobs created across portfolio
EPC A
Majority of schemes EPC A or BREEAM Excellent

Deals that speak
for themselves.

Oldbury, West Midlands

Xpanse, Seven Stars Road

DeveloperOpus Land
Loan amount£5.5m
Size120,000 sq ft
SpecificationGrade A · EPC A
ExitSold to LondonMetric £18.1m
8.51% IRR incl. arrangement fees
Wolverhampton

Steelpark Trading Estate

DeveloperGoold Estates
Loan amount£3.7m
Size69,050 sq ft · 4 units
SpecificationGrade A · EPC A
Duration9 months
13.29% IRR incl. arrangement fees
Ettingshall, West Midlands

Drywall & G5 Industrial Park

DeveloperKMN Investments
Loan amount£7.59m
Size83,174 sq ft · 18 units
SpecificationEPC A · BREEAM Excellent
Duration22 months
10.09% IRR incl. arrangement fees
"

Without Frontier Development Capital, we couldn't get any of these schemes off the ground. High street banks are not there for speculative development. FDC fill a huge gap — and the jobs created across those eight buildings in the West Midlands is a testament to what they've done for us.

Henry Bellfield · Barberry · Industrial & Logistics Developer · West Midlands

The people behind every deal.

Highly experienced real estate debt specialists with deep sector networks, long-standing developer relationships, and over 90 combined years of experience.

Let's talk about
your allocation.

We're here all week. Book a time directly in the diary below — or drop us an email and we'll come to you.

Email direct
info@mercia.co.uk
Website
www.mercia.co.uk
Target Fund Size
£500 million
Target Net Return
>10% p.a.