Mills & Reeve projects team has advised Aviva, one of the UK's leading providers of commercial finance, on four significant new projects this summer totalling over £140 million.

The team advised Aviva on its first two fire station projects, both with Blue3, a Kier-led consortia, for which Aviva provided over £80 million senior debt. The first project to close was to design, build and maintain eleven new fire stations for the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service. The second was to design, build and maintain nine new fire stations for the London Fire Brigade.

We also advised Aviva on its latest student accommodation project at the University of York. Aviva provided £28.5 million senior debt to Student Accommodation Provision Three LLP, a joint venture between Evans Property Group and the University of York, who will be building and developing a third college for the University at its Heslington East campus.

This follows the two major student accommodation projects the firm completed for Aviva at Reading University and the University of Essex last year.

Kevin Sale, Director of Commercial Finance at Aviva, said: “The funding of this project is another strong addition to our student accommodation lending portfolio. It represents a good long term investment for Aviva and for our annuity customers and it will benefit the community and local economy of York, with which Aviva has close links. The Mills & Reeve team has once again pulled out all the stops to ensure a successful project.”

Most recently the team advised Aviva on its £43 million funding of Birmingham’s new dental school and hospital. It will be the first integrated, stand-alone dental hospital and dental school to be built in the UK for almost 40 years. The project will be delivered under the Birmingham and Solihull LIFT umbrella with Prime and HICL the private sector parties.

The special purpose vehicle Birmingham and Solihull LIFT (Fundco 4) Limited (owned by Prime, HICL and Community Health Partnerships) will deliver the development for Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust who will underlet the facility to the University of Birmingham. This is the first NHS LIFT project to close since the reorganisation of the NHS in April.

Partner Raith Pickup, who led the teams, said: “We are delighted to have been able to help Aviva get four significant projects in three very different and exciting sectors over the line in a short space of time”.