A complex £11m bridging loan with a lot on the line – completed in just 6 days!

 

  • Loan value
    £11,168,000
  • LTV
    54.48%

  • Loan term
    11 months

The Client

The borrower is an experienced portfolio landlord and property investor through an SPV, who came to us through Affinity Mortgages.

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The Situation

Affinity approached us with a time-sensitive case where their client had a lot on the line. The borrower was looking to acquire an apartment block undervalue for £14m but was waiting on another lender to provide final credit sign-off on the loan to complete the acquisition. They exchanged, but at the last minute the original lender declined the application.

Already having exchanged, they needed to find another way to finance the purchase or risk forfeiting the £1.4 million deposit they had already paid. They had only 10 days within which to complete the purchase and avoid a costly situation.

A further complication arose as the borrower acted as the final link in a back-to-back onward sale structure from a housing association, with the initial transaction agreed at £11m.

On top of that, the asset that the borrower sought to acquire needed remediation works due to cladding issues, making the building non-compliant for letting. They were funding the works independently.

A bridging loan was needed to ensure the borrower could purchase the apartment block before remediation works were carried out.

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The Solution

Within hours of receiving the enquiry, we issued terms and arranged a next-day credit call with the borrower.

Pressed for time, we knew we had to rely on our strong relationships to expedite the process and arranged with a suitable valuer to inspect and produce a report for the property in just 3 days.

To further speed up the process, the solicitors worked without an undertaking and were given access to a data room from the client’s side. This meant that they were able to comb through information provided to the previous lender, extracting relevant details without the need to wait for the borrower’s solicitor to work through legal enquiries again.

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The Benefit

One of the things we pride ourselves on at West One is our deep connections in the industry. With established and nurtured relationships, we are a strong partner for intermediaries looking to help clients with complex, time-sensitive circumstances. Our expertise also allows us to see opportunities and routes for expediting cases where many others might not.

The Result 

Upon receiving the initial enquiry, we were ready to complete the loan just 6 days later, in almost half the time required, which was a relief to the borrower and their broker. With the pressure lifted, they were able to focus on refinancing, ultimately positioning themselves for long-term success by initiating remediation works on the property before refinancing.

Comments from the broker

Rick Marshall, a Director of Affinity Group, said the following about the deal:

“After having the initial conversation with our client, where it was apparent that an extreme time frame to completion was required along with a complicated set of circumstances, I was unsure if I could hit the mandate.

Thankfully, the stars aligned with all professional parties to the deal working overtime to ensure time frames were accomplished. This is not the first time that West One have excelled under these circumstances for our clients. Once they had committed to work with us, I had no doubt that they would make the loan a reality.

Unbelievably, they were actually ready to complete ahead of time. Just goes to show what can be achieved with the right partners, thank you West One, on to the next.

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