United Trust Bank has completed a £16.2m investment facility to refinance a mixed-use residential and office property in South London.
The five-year facility, provided by the bank’s structured property finance team, is secured against an asset comprising 24 apartments and about 18,500 sq ft of office accommodation.
The deal was introduced to Andy Thomson in United Trust Bank’s real estate finance division by Gordon Clements of Morgan Allen Property Surveyors, acting for the Patel family.
The family has owned the property for more than 35 years and intends to retain it as a long-term investment. The site was previously occupied by one of the UK’s largest photographic processing facilities before being redeveloped for residential and office use.
FIVE-YEAR REFINANCING
The new facility refinances expiring debt and has been agreed at 61% loan-to-value. UTB said the property was valued at £26.9m for the transaction.
The borrowers sought a five-year fixed-rate facility to provide greater certainty over financing costs as part of their long-term ownership strategy.
Jayesh Patel, representing the family, says: “This property has been part of our family’s portfolio for more than 35 years and remains an important long-term asset for us, so finding the right funding partner was essential. We wanted a solution which gave us certainty for the next five years without unnecessary complications.
“Gordon and the UTB team understood that from the beginning and worked together to deliver exactly what we required. We’re delighted with the facility and the way the transaction was handled by all parties.”
Gordon Clements of Morgan Allen Property Surveyors says: “Our clients knew what they wanted from the outset – a competitive five-year facility from a lender that understood both the quality of the asset and their long-term plans for it. UTB took a pragmatic and commercial approach and the Structured Property Finance team at UTB were straightforward to deal with throughout.
“On a transaction of this size, having confidence that your lender understands the requirement and can deliver what it says it will, is hugely important. The process was smooth from start to finish.”
Thomson says: “This was a substantial transaction but, importantly, the client’s requirement was actually very straightforward. They had a high-quality, well-established mixed-use asset which had been in the family for more than three decades and simply wanted a competitive, long-term funding solution delivered efficiently and with certainty.”
