Yorkshire Bank Coventry announces £21.9m Ricoh Arena deal
Yorkshire Bank's Coventry Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) has provided funding of £21m to Arena Coventry Ltd (ACL), builders of Coventry's award-winning and unique Ricoh Arena.
The deal means that Coventry City Council will receive all of the £21 million lent to ACL - which manage the multi-purpose building - to operate the 50 year head lease for the venue.
The Ricoh Arena is a unique venue incorporating: Coventry City Football Club's 32,500 capacity football stadium, a 64,000 sq ft events hall, a 153,000 sq ft casino, 30,000 sq ft of office space, a hotel where executive boxes convert into 69 hotel bedrooms, serviced apartments and suites, a 15,000 sq ft health club.
Already sponsors of the Yorkshire Bank lounge used by Coventry City Football Club Premier Club members on match days, today's announcement further underlines Yorkshire Bank Coventry's support for the landmark building.
Brian Colquhoun director integrated financial solutions Yorkshire Bank North West and Midlands region said: "We are delighted to be associated with such an important development for the city of Coventry. This deal is testament to our innovative approach to banking. We understood and shared the vision for this exciting venue with both ACL and the Council from day one, and took the leap of faith to support the project, even relocating our own Yorkshire Bank Coventry FSC to the Arena."
Coventry City Council leader Ken Taylor said: "We're delighted that we have got to the final stage in the Ricoh Arena funding and it gives a further boost to the regeneration of the whole site.
"As a council we are grateful to Yorkshire Bank for their faith in the future of the venue and the wider retail and leisure site. Yorkshire Bank shares our aspirations to achieve economic growth in the north of Coventry and this further agreement is a massive step forward.
"There is still more development potential on adjacent land and we are looking at different proposals from developers so the future looks very encouraging."
Yorkshire Bank employs more than 5,000 people and has over 190 retail branches and 28 FSCs across the country.
Corporate Partner Paul Brooksbank is delighted with the deal: "The Ricoh Arena is a truly wonderful development which offers so much to the city and the region as well and that is why we want to support and be part of it," he said.
"It is a landmark development which is already proving to be a success and we are extremely confident it will continue to do so which is why we wanted to be part of this deal."
Andrew Young, Chairman of the Arena Coventry Ltd board, believes the agreement proves the commercial viability of the Ricoh Arena scheme.
"Yorkshire Bank has an excellent reputation and this partnership deal is testament to the quality of business that the Ricoh Arena is able to attract," he said.
"Coventry City Council and Yorkshire Bank typify the attitude of all our partners. They have listened to our hopes for the venue and have assessed what we have achieved so far.
Yorkshire Bank's innovative Financial Solutions Centres (FSCs) were launched across the UK in 2005 and offer a 'back to the future' approach to banking. The FSC concept offers companies the type of personal service and local decision making which has become a rarity in a sector where many providers are centralising the approvals process and servicing clients' needs through call centres. Customers are known as 'members' and they can use state of the art facilities, including conference rooms, free of charge.