Together has provided a £1.4 million bridging loan to a Devon dairy farmer who is consolidating six emergency loans ahead of the planned sale of property and his retirement.
The organic farmer, who has worked on his family’s 200-acre business for nearly three decades, suffered severe cashflow problems after a salmonella outbreak among his milking herd prevented him from selling milk for six months.
He took out six emergency loans in 2023 to support the business during the disruption.
With the herd now fully vaccinated and performing well, the farmer wanted to replace the debts with a single facility. The proposed exit is the sale of two farmhouses, their outbuildings and surrounding land as part of his plans to downsize and retire.
The properties are used as both working farms and family residences, requiring occupancy arrangements to be addressed through formal assured shorthold tenancy agreements, as well as wider legal due diligence.
Broker Equity One Finance had previously worked with Together on a number of large commercial cases and approached the lender to fund the refinancing.
Together agreed a £1.4 million unregulated bridging loan over a 12-month term, secured against both Devon farm properties at 48% LTV, with interest retained.
Dan Narwal (pictured), intermediary corporate account director at Together, says: “Multiple existing loans can become an administrative burden for smaller independent businesses like our clients and can often make transitioning out of that business more complicated.
“Consolidating a large debt like this, with a clear and viable exit plan, allowed the client to get their finances in order and move towards an orderly downsizing and retirement.
“The case represents another example of how our Premier for Intermediaries team are making it easier for brokers to submit £1m+ loans and get the right outcome for their high-net-worth and business clients.”
Dale Robinson, director at EquityOne, says: “This case had a few stumbling blocks due to issues surrounding unregistered land, occupancy of the security properties and a historic CCJ tied to the property, but not the borrower.
“Together’s team diligently helped us work through these issues and kept the case moving forward.
“My client can now put his plans in place without the additional financial burden of managing multiple loans.”
