The Development Finance team at United Trust Bank was approached by a long-term developer client to fund a project in an attractive village in the heart of Hampshire.
The client had been working on the project over a two-year period, getting together various options on a number of back gardens on a piecemeal basis and purchasing an existing house to provide the access to the site. The proposed development comprised five different titles and three different planning consents to produce a mix of 3 bedroomed semi-detached and 4 bedroomed detached houses creating 19 new homes in total.
Following a site visit, the Bank and its professional advisers swiftly got to grips with the complex nature of the transaction which also involved dealing with various ransom strip and highways issues.
The facility agreed by the Bank provided for 100% of the build costs plus the development related professional fees, interest and a contribution to the acquisition costs. The clients provided their own equity up front and covered the cost of the section 106 contributions. The total facility required equated to £6.1m representing 60% of GDV.
Paul Keay, Property Development Director, United Trust Bank commented:
“The number of different titles and interested parties involved, the access to the site and the combination of planning consents were just some of the factors which made this a less than straightforward development. However, at UTB we’re adept at dealing with projects which require a little more effort and experience to understand and progress and once the developer had furnished us with the full facts we were happy to give the developer the go ahead and work has started on site.
“These more complex sites are often the meat and drink of SME developers and United Trust Bank has the necessary skills and commitment to support them in seizing these more unusual opportunities.”
Loan amount: £6.1m
GDV: 60%
Term 18 months