MERA has completed a £6.1m refinance against a fully let serviced office near Chancery Lane, enabling the borrower to release equity for its next acquisition.
The 24-month facility is secured against a circa 10,000 sq ft London office property comprising 16 individual suites and operating as a serviced office.
Structured at 55% LTV, with interest partly serviced and partly accrued each month, the loan replaces existing borrowing with Bank of London and The Middle East.
The equity released through the refinancing will allow the client to exchange on another office property being acquired from a large overseas investor. Completion of that purchase has been deferred for nine months, after which the property is due to undergo refurbishment.
Rather than extend its existing BLME facility, the borrower sought a lender that could also support the planned refurbishment of the new acquisition. MERA has previously provided finance to the client.
The transaction was led for MERA by associate director Leo del Rosso, with mezzanine finance provided by Martley Capital.
Del Rosso (pictured) says: “This was about releasing the funds our client needed to move on to their next opportunity, without getting tied up in a straight refinance. Structuring it alongside Martley Capital gave them the flexibility to exchange on the new acquisition now, and the certainty of a lender who can support the refurbishment once it completes.
“We’ve backed this client before, and that history mattered here. They wanted a lender who understood the plan for the new asset, not just the numbers on this one, and that’s exactly the kind of relationship we want to keep building with clients we’ve already worked with.”
Tom Tunley, director of debt capital markets at Martley Capital, adds: “We were pleased to support this transaction alongside MERA, structuring mezzanine finance that gave the client the certainty to move quickly on their next acquisition.
“It’s exactly the kind of deal where a joined-up capital stack makes the difference, and we look forward to seeing the refurbishment project progress.”
