Press Release
CBRE reaches £100m Investment Milestone for South Yorkshire JESSICA Fund
August 24, 2026
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The first transaction comprises £8.8m development funding to support the development of a 21,000 sq ft Grade A office scheme on Norfolk Street in Sheffield city centre. The development will meet the sustainability demands of modern occupiers by achieving net zero, BREEAM Excellent and EPC A, whilst meeting the demand for centrally located office space off the back of the successful Heart of the City.
The second comprises a £8.05 million development funding to support the development of an 83,000 sq ft industrial scheme at First Avenue, GatewayEast in Doncaster, comprising 14 units ranging from 2,500 to 18,500 sq ft. This builds on the Fund’s previous investment in the area having supported the development of 44,000 sq ft of industrial space in 2017. The site forms part of the GatewayEast development which could see substantial economic growth following the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
The two loans take total funding deployed by the SY JESSICA Fund to more than £100 million since CBRE’s Lending team has been managing this programme, while leveraging over £100 million of private sector investment and supporting the creation of more than 2 million sq ft of commercial floorspace across the region.
Both projects are located within the South Yorkshire Investment Zone, which became the UK's first Investment Zone in 2023. Supported by £3 million of Investment Zone funding allocated to the Fund from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, the developments align with the programme's objectives of boosting productivity, attracting investment and supporting economic growth across South Yorkshire.
South Yorkshire was the first Investment Zone to be launched in the country and we have invested across the region to support business and encourage investment. These two investments by our JESSICA fund together with the one at Rockingham Business Park in Barnsley reflects the region’s need to provide high-quality employment space to enable our businesses to modernise and grow and also attract new companies to the region. We will continue to work with the JESSICA Fund to ensure South Yorkshire continues to have the business space needed to meet our aspirations for good and inclusive growth.
The Fund was one of our first lending mandates and we are delighted that working together with the excellent SY team, we have met the milestone of £100m deployed for SY JESSICA. Behind the milestone is 1.7m sq ft of employment space that has contributed to the economic strength and regeneration in the region. These recent transactions demonstrate the impact that investment can have in unlocking development and accelerating growth across the region. As projects within South Yorkshire's Investment Zone, both schemes support ambitions to boost productivity and create sustainable economic opportunities. The Fund was one of our cornerstone lending mandates and forms part of our portfolio of £3bn of lending across the UK.
The JESSICA Fund has once again supported investment in Doncaster. This investment at GatewayEast not only shows confidence in our City but demonstrates the wider investment that the re-opening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport can bring. Already a thriving hub of business activity, this investment at GatewayEast will provide much need business accommodation to encourage further inward investment and business growth, capitalising on the site’s exceptional connectivity and close proximity to the airport.
The JESSICA investment into Norfolk Street comes at an important stage of the ongoing regeneration of the City Centre. We have seen great success recently with the development and full occupation of the Issac Building in our Heart of the City development so the addition of this Grade A office should help meet the next round of demand. The development has been a long time in development, and I am pleased that the JESSICA Fund stuck with what will be a striking office with best in class sustainability credentials.
About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE: CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm and a premier provider of critical infrastructure services. The company has more than 155,000 employees serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE serves clients through four business segments: Advisory (leasing, sales, debt origination, mortgage servicing, valuations); Building Operations & Experience (facilities management, property management, flex space & experience, critical infrastructure); Project Management (program management, project management, cost consulting); Real Estate Investments (investment management, development). Please visit our website at www.cbre.co.uk.