Our client, a first-time developer, had been unsuccessful at securing funding for the development.

Our property team were able to support in packaging the case and sourcing a flexible, commercial lender that would assess on the basis of property values.

The Client

Our client, a first-time developer, purchased a plot of land with planning for two dwellings. The client had approached a number of lenders directly for the development finance but was unsuccessful in securing a loan that met his requirements.

The Case

This case had a number of levels of complexity. Firstly, being a first-time developer restricted the number of lenders available to the borrower. Many commercial lenders require development experience as part of their lending criteria.

Secondly, the traditional lenders the client had approached struggled to get comfortable with this case due to a lack of comparable properties in the area.

On assessing this case we knew we would require a commercially minded lender that was able to use their own judgement on both the value of the existing site, and the end development, given the lack of comparable properties in the area.

The Solution

We supported the client with packaging the case and were able to secure development finance at a competitive rate (7.5%PA) for a first-time developer. We overcame lack of experience, the lack of comparable properties and slowdowns in the market due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The client secured the development finance required and has been able to make a start on works on site.