TAB has provided a £4.55 million bridging loan to fund the acquisition and restoration of Bere Court, a Grade I listed country house in Pangbourne, Berkshire.
The specialist property finance lender completed the facility in just over two weeks after the borrower, an experienced property investor with a portfolio valued at about £7 million, successfully bid for the property at auction.
The borrower approached TAB through broker Rapid Bridging, requiring a flexible short-term funding package that could meet an auction-driven deadline, refinance existing commitments and provide additional capital for restoration works.
The loan was arranged on a first charge basis over a 12-month term at around 65% loan-to-value, with interest retained and arrangement fees added to the facility. The exit is expected to come from the sale of investment properties within the wider portfolio.
Bere Court traces its origins to the 13th century and was formerly the manor house of Pangbourne. It later served as a principal residence of the abbots of Reading Abbey before entering private ownership after the dissolution of the monasteries.
In the 18th century, the property was remodelled into a Georgian red-brick mansion while retaining medieval features, including vaulted cellars.
TAB said the completed restoration and wider asset strategy were expected to deliver a gross development value of about £9 million.
The TAB team working on the transaction included Michael Grant, head of sales, Chioma Amakulo, underwriting manager, and Dale Collier, trainee underwriter.
Andrew Jones, founder of Rapid Bridging, says: “This transaction was about as specialist as it gets. It involved the acquisition of a Grade I listed heritage asset, which many traditional lenders are reluctant to finance.
“There were significant refinancing requirements and restoration funding.
“Completing the case from application to completion in just over two weeks was an incredible performance. Well done to all concerned.
“Not only did the TAB team move at breakneck speed, it was a pleasure to deal with them. The team worked proactively and collaboratively to find solutions to the challenges the transaction posed.
“Throughout the process, they were responsive, commercial, and committed to completing the transaction successfully. I would like to extend our particular thanks to Chioma, Michael and Dale at TAB for their outstanding support in delivering this complex £4.55 million bridging facility.
“I’d like to thank them for bringing momentum to lending and making history with the speed at which they worked. I look forward to completing many more transactions together in the future.”
Karen Rodrigues, director of sales at TAB, adds: “Many lenders aspire to combine real technology with real service – TAB is unique in that it delivers on both. This is precisely why the team has developed such strong relationships with brokers.
“While we are pushing the commercial mortgage side of the business, delivering mortgages at bridging speed, we haven’t taken our foot off the short-term finance pedal. The transaction completed in just over two weeks.
“That speed mattered. Auction deadlines do not move. Opportunities do not wait. And many lenders avoid Grade I listed buildings. We did not.
“One of our values is that if a deal should be done, we will find a way to do it. The Bere Court bridge really lived up to that.”
