Arc & Co. and specialist property lender Stamford Finance have completed a £5.7m bridging loan secured against two high value properties in Central London.
The two mews properties required refinancing from the existing lender.
Corey Dennis, senior broker at Arc & Co., and Peter Beaumont, director at Stamford Finance, advanced the bridging facility for the borrower at 75% LTV – considerably higher than the average leverage typically available for this type of deal.
Property values in central London have been impacted by a number of factors in recent years, such as rising interest rates, which have priced out domestic buyers.
In addition, Stamp Duty reforms have reduced foreign investment.
Therefore, it was crucial to partner with a lender that could take a pragmatic approach to the client and asset, allowing for a sale in an improving market.
The objective is to enable the client to preserve their equity in the property, while providing additional time to achieve a successful sale.
Anderson Wilde and Harris carried out the valuation reports for the transaction. Stamford Finance were able to use the existing valuation report – a practical solution to achieve a swift completion.
Arc & Co. completes deals with more than 80 lenders per year, consistently tendering for the most suitable provider and not revisiting lenders purely out of habit.
In this instance, Dennis sought out a lender that could adapt to the situation, going above and beyond to get the most suitable terms.
The nine month loan is the largest for Stamford Finance to date, whose and discretionary funding and consequent flexibility is gaining traction among the broker and borrower community.
Dennis said: “It was important to carefully manage the incoming and outgoing lender dynamics in this case, and we ensured that we arrived at the best outcome for the borrower.
“High value units in central London are not readily supported by lenders, especially not above 70% LTV, but Stamford Finance really came through on their promise of being a lender that can take a pragmatic view when it comes to increased leverage.”
Beaumont added: “We remain committed to supporting the ever-changing bridging and development market in the UK.
“Every borrower requirement is different and working alongside a brokerage as proactive as Arc & Co. gives us the chance to be able to showcase what we are capable of doing as a private lender, exercising pragmatism and flexibility alongside speed of execution.”
