United Trust Bank (UTB) Structured Property Finance has successfully completed a £5m commercial bridge on an £8.4m newly refurbished commercial property in Reading.
The borrower is a special purpose vehicle managed by privately owned real estate investment management business Northhold Group which has an outstanding track record of successful property ventures across commercial, residential, and mixed-use schemes in England & Wales.
The purpose of the loan was to refinance the existing funding facility and release equity from the completed development as the commercial units are let on new occupational leases.
The ground floor and basement have been anchored by a well-known retailer, and the refurbished offices on the upper five floors are vacant but being marketed.
Being new-to-Bank borrowers with private investors across multiple jurisdictions, there were complex KYC due diligence requirements.
However, UTB’s Structured Property Finance team worked closely with the customer and their advisor, Gareth Rees of GDP Funding, to structure a bespoke solution.
UTB agreed to provide a £5m commercial bridge for a 3-year term with interest retained for the letting up period, after which the interest will be serviced.
Equity will be released in two tranches.
The first upon practical completion and the remaining sum when rent has stabilised.
The full £5m facility represents 60% of the stabilised loan-to-value (LTV).
Alan Bruner, director of Northhold Group, said: “Martin and the team at UTB worked closely with Gareth and quickly got to know us, the asset and our requirements, and set about structuring a solution which gave us the equity and flexibility we needed with competitive pricing.
“With an extensive pipeline of schemes in play, I am sure we will have opportunities to work with UTB again on future projects.”
Martin Cameron (pictured), business development director – Structured Property Finance, United Trust Bank, said: “We were delighted to have this opportunity to work with Alan and his experienced team in putting together a bespoke structured solution which met his and his investors’ needs and we very much look forward to working with Alan again in the future.
“At UTB we see many clients with unusual requirements or circumstances and complex corporate or trust structures, and we enjoy being able to apply the team’s extensive knowledge and know-how in putting together competitive tailored funding and enabling clients to achieve their objectives.”
