London lending platform backs 272 home plans with £10m funding

A London property finance platform has provided £10m of funding for the refinancing of a site in Greenwich and the acquisition of a second site that would see nearly 300 houses built.

LendInvest, the UK’s leading platform for property finance, has funded a £10m bridging finance loan in a tight time frame, after the borrower ran into financing delays due to Covid-19.

LendInvest provided funding for the refinance of the original site, in Abbey Wood, and acquisition of a second adjoining site allowing planning for 272 residential units to be built starting in Q4 2020.

On completion the scheme will be a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom apartments and townhouses, 35 per cent of which will be affordable housing.

Justin Trowse, director for bridging at LendInvest, commented: “The last few months have been a particularly challenging time for the team and our brokers - facing new hurdles and having to work with a greater degree of flexibility whilst performing complex transactions at speed in order to get our borrower’s deals over the line.

“This deal was one that we were determined to deliver and complete in time so as not to disrupt the borrower’s project timeline. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Rickesh at Mantra, and the dedication of the team, we are delighted to announce the provision of quality funding for this project.”

Mantra Capital acted as the broker for this deal.

Rickesh Patel, partner at Mantra Capital, added: “The global impact of Covid-19 is clear for everyone to see and it has presented unprecedented challenges to all business sectors.

“Strong relationships and collaboration between all parties is even more crucial than ever in order to execute transactions and keep business moving.

“Mantra Commercial, part of the Mantra Capital Group, were mandated to assist with the sourcing of funding for this scheme prior to the full impact of Covid-19 being understood in the UK.

“As the severity of the situation became more apparent, the initial lender who offered terms were no longer able to honour them. This was an acquisition which now had tight timescales to work towards for completion, with an increasingly limited market to operate within.

“Our close funding partners LendInvest quickly understood the scheme, the challenges we faced in terms of timescales and came up with a deliverable debt package that worked for our client.

“Their experience and knowledge was clear to see. The deal wasn’t without its challenges, but with the hard work and collaboration of Justin and the wider LendInvest team we were able to get this acquisition deal completed and deliver a commercial solution that worked for all parties.”

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