Ultimate Finance has stepped in to refinance a 25-unit housing development in Market Drayton after the original exit lender withdrew shortly before practical completion.
The scheme, part of a wider 79-property portfolio valued at around £34m, had already faced delays due to a utilities connection issue, leaving the developer at risk of penalties as the existing loan facility approached its deadline.
The project involved land swaps, overage agreements and a tight timeline, prompting the need for a fast and workable refinancing solution.
Senior regional director at Ultimate Finance, Samuel Cousins (pictured), said: “This was a high-quality developer facing a low-visibility problem: multiple moving parts colliding with an unforgiving deadline.
“Our job was to bring speed and clarity to a complex situation.”
Matt Underhill, broker at Clarity Development Finance, brought the case to Ultimate Finance, which provided a £3.85m net development exit bridging facility to repay the incumbent lender and support completion of the remaining works.
Ultimate Finance allowed the existing funder to remain in place during key steps and later facilitated the transfer of their charge onto adjacent land.
Its in-house legal team worked with external advisers to navigate the land swap and overage arrangements, while maintaining regular communication between all parties to keep the deal progressing.
Cousins said: “We flexed our approach to suit the project’s unique requirements – legal, commercial and practical.
“When you blend decisive credit teams, hands-on legal support and clear communication, complex deals become deliverable. That’s how we keep business moving.”
The refinancing completed in time to avoid penalty fees and allowed the developer to continue towards practical completion, with around £85,000 of works outstanding.
Underhill said: “Having been let down by another lender after several months and no discernible reason, we took this complex deal to Ultimate Finance, who were able to take a quick commercial view on many complex factors, and navigated the deal with speed and clarity throughout the process.
“Ultimate Finance understood the quality of the developer, who is one of our larger clients and kept us up to date daily to achieve the tight deadline we were working to, to avoid penalty fees from the incumbent development lender.”
