Company

Zahid Iqbal is a Yorkshire-based property entrepreneur and owner of Z&F Properties. He has a proven track record of acquiring and rapidly transforming shopping centres across the north of England.

Funding Requirement

Zahid secured a £4.7m funding deal with Reward to finance the purchase of Prospect Shopping Centre, a 5.1 acre retail site in the heart of Hull city centre.

Finance Solution

Zahid, who also owns The Ridings Shopping Centre in Wakefield, Packhorse Shopping Centre in Huddersfield and Batley Plaza, is now looking to utilise the funding to reinvigorate Prospect Shopping Centre, which houses major retailers such as Greggs and Specsavers and attracts approximately six million shoppers each year.

The deal is one of the highest single lends Reward has provided, with our Founding Director Dave Jones commenting: “Zahid is one of the most highly respected entrepreneurs and property developers in the region and has a phenomenal track record in acquiring and transforming a growing portfolio of shopping centres. Being able to help finance a property transaction of this magnitude also demonstrates our experience in delivering solutions which are able to fund purchases outright, leverage a property asset to generate working capital or simply bridge a sale.

“It can also be a very small world as I used to be Zahid’s bank manager over 30 years ago during my early career at Yorkshire Bank. I’ve stayed in touch ever since and having already assisted in his purchase of the Ridings at Wakefield am delighted that Reward is able to assist again in another major acquisition. We’re proud to be a part of this journey and look forward to supporting Zahid in his vision to transform the wider regional town and city centre retail landscape.”

Client Testimonial

“This latest acquisition of the Prospect Shopping Centre underlies our commitment to investing in Hull and transforming one of its most prominent shopping centres into the primary retail destination for people locally. Despite huge competition from out-of-town retail parks, we firmly believe that shopping inside town and city centres across Yorkshire and the Humber is still in huge demand and the lifeblood of many local economies.

“We turned to Reward as we needed a lender that has extensive property finance expertise and was able to provide a fast and flexible funding solution that helped make an acquisition of this size as seamless as possible. We’ve established a clear vision for what we want to do with the centre and are looking forward to sharing our exciting future plans with new and existing retail tenants and the millions of visitors who shop here each year.”

Zahid Iqbal, property entrepreneur and owner of Z&F Properties