Atom bank has completed a £1.1 million commercial loan secured against a learning disabilities unit in Hampshire, enabling the borrower to avoid a penalty on an expiring bridging facility.
The borrower had acquired the property a year earlier using bridging finance before developing it into a six-bed unit for people with learning disabilities. It was subsequently let to a corporate tenant on a 15-year lease.
With the bridging loan approaching expiry, the borrower faced a tight deadline and a substantial fee if the refinancing was not completed in time.
Matt Martin, co-founder of Align Property Finance and the broker on the case, said some lenders had struggled to commit to a valuation of the property, raising the prospect of delays and additional costs.
Atom moved from valuation to drawdown within five weeks. The bank ran the legal work alongside the valuation process and was willing to lend up to 75% loan-to-value, providing headroom if the valuation fell short of expectations.
Neil Findlay, senior commercial business development manager at Atom bank, says: “This case highlights what makes Atom special. Care homes are a complicated asset, which can put some lenders off, but we’ve built specialist knowledge of the sector, which means we are well placed to support such cases, whether they are commercial investors or first-time care home operators.
“What’s more, we aren’t put off by tight deadlines – our system and processes are built to provide borrowers and brokers with the answers they need, as quickly as possible.
“In this case we ran the legals at the same time as the valuation, to ensure we could help the borrower meet their deadline.”
Martin adds: “This case went right to the wire, and it was only Atom’s pragmatism and relationship management that meant we beat the deadline. Neil was in regular contact, always available to help when necessary, while Emma Vardy and the rest of the team were amazing.
“Every lender says they are relationship lenders and flexible, but it’s only when you get down to the deal that you can see whether that’s really the case, and Atom absolutely delivered, even moving some of the requirements to CPs just to ensure we got this done.
“The client was thrilled; Atom will be the first port of call for future deals like this.”
