YBS Commercial Mortgages is standardising lending on all commercial investment properties let out to a tenant, either entirely or partly for commercial reasons, regardless of sector.
These changes come as the lender aims to support commercial investors and those rebuilding their businesses following the pandemic.
This move reverses measures introduced during the pandemic, which saw lending on some businesses – such as non-essential retail and wholesale – restricted to a maximum loan of £3m per property up to 65% loan-to-value (LTV).
From today, the maximum loan amount will be £5m per property, up to 75% LTV, with a total portfolio limit of £20m, and is applicable to all businesses, irrespective of sector.
A further encouraging change is the removal of other limitations unrelated to the pandemic, such as the £3m restriction on lending on properties with solely retail rental income (lending now available up to £5m); and the removal of the requirement for a retail property to be 15 thousand square feet or less in size to be considered for a commercial loan.
Tom Simpson (pictured), managing director at YBS Commercial Mortgages, said: “This move will create more certainty, removing unnecessary complexity for brokers to navigate, especially when dealing with clients with portfolios stretching across multiple sectors.
“What’s more, as well as all types of businesses being able to benefit from the same loan conditions, the process will be more straightforward for teams across the business, enabling us to react to the changing market in a more streamlined and dynamic way.”
He added: “This change represents our latest bid to provide much-needed support for the commercial investment market, which – especially in the case of certain non-essential sectors – is still recovering from the pandemic.
“This move follows in the footsteps of our new fixed-rate commercial investment product, launched in March, introduced to enhance our support for property investors.”
