LendInvest backs large-scale resi scheme in Kent with £18m funding

Property lender LendInvest is celebrating after being named exclusive development finance lender on a project to create thousands of new homes in Kent.

LendInvest has agreed to fund the construction of 216 units in Richmond Park, just outside Dover, in the first phase of a long-term development scheme aimig to build up to 5,750 properties.

Developer Halsbury Homes, which owns the site in Whitfield, currently has planning permission for 1,310 homes.

The company initially received a £10m bridging loan from LendInvest to repay an existing lender, then transitioned to a LendInvest development finance loan of £7.75m for construction.

The project is LendInvest’s biggest development to date in terms unit number. It has a forecast gross development value of £59m.

In addition to the new homes, Halsbury also has building consent for amenities such as a school, shops and a retirement home.

LendInvest’s director of development, Steve Larkin, said: “Funding a development on the scale of Richmond Park is hugely exciting as a lender.

“There is great potential for a very long-term relationship and this deal shows how far we have grown as a development finance backer in two years since our development loans were formally launched.”

He added: “The fact that this will be adding at least 216 affordable homes to the country’s housing stock in an area that’s popular with families and commuters is a significant bonus.”

Halsbury Homes’ chief financial officer, Jason Green, commented: “Whitfield is the second largest regeneration development in Kent and is very important to Halsbury.

“We have been in the fortunate position of having several funders interested in supporting our next phase of growth. However, once LendInvest showed interest in supporting us on the scheme, it was not a difficult decision to partner with them, as they have been a strong partner to us on other sites.”

Both LendInvest and Halsbury Homes were advised on the transaction by construction and real estate consultancy Naismiths.

Blane Perrotton, MD at Naismiths, commented: “It’s not just the scale of this project that makes it special, it’s the ambition.

“The creation of 216 new, affordable homes in such a sought-after location will make Richmond Park a crucial development in the effort to solve Britain’s housing crisis.”