KNOWLEDGE - INTEGRITY - SPEED
The banks remain somewhat unenthusiastic about lending for speculative property development, especially for amounts below £1m. Other lenders, including property specialists also seem to limit funding in this range unless the borrower is operating in the south-east or a major conurbation that is fast-growing and on their 'hit list'.
Panacea fill this gap for builders and developers, specifically seeking out borrowers under £1m who need short-term finance.
We will definitely assess your case if you are:
Developing residential (not primary residence) and commercial new build
Designing single and multi-unit developments
Experienced, or a new-to-market developer
Disadvantaged by a weak balance sheet or impaired credit
Some examples of where we have lent for property development:
£50k advance to complete a new house where the contractor failed to complete the build
£420k advanced to construct holiday cottages. The facility provided staged drawdown with interest roll up. The clients refinanced post completion, enabling them to retain and operate the properties as a holiday rental business operation
£1.05m to build apartments in London. An initial drawdown was provided ahead of sign off on pre-commencement planning conditions, with the balance funding then provided on a staged basis and including interest roll up. Refinance was arranged post completion, to enable the client to retain the wider site for its investment return
£140k to complete a part-built executive property
£130k, at 110% loan-to-value, to enable the client to acquire a single unit development site pending sale of a separate asset, that we did not take a charge on
£130k to complete a partially constructed block of apartments
Why us:
We will consider lending against other assets you may have, to see if there are alternative choices for either cheaper funding or a higher level of borrowing
If you are successful in securing funding elsewhere, it could mean that you don't have to borrow from Panacea, or that you can reduce the level of funding required from us
We will discuss the options available to you for refinance after completion of the project, giving you a contingency plan alongside your own preferred exit strategy
You deal direct with our decision makers - we are a small and highly experienced team
Because of our wide and deep assessment process, we can consider lending more aggressively than would be the case for other principal lenders
Features of our development lending:
Staged drawdown available
Interest roll up available
We will look to match our loan term with the expected development and sale/refinance timeline, to avoid, where possible, facility expiry and renewal
Independent land/property valuations are not always required
Open discussion with our underwriters throughout if plans or circumstances change, we will do our best to work these through and adapt our funding accordingly
Underwriter site visits are undertaken to help us fully understand your project
Where possible, we will work with the client's own project supporting professionals, to avoid where we can, any independent project monitoring cost and oversight requirement
My bank introduced me to the Panacea team several years ago and we have built a very strong working relationship. I asked them if they would be able to fund a combined conversion and new build project for my site in Walthamstow. The project was complicated by challenges in obtaining sign off to pre-commencement planning conditions. I was particularly impressed by the way Panacea was able to adopt a team approach to structuring the lend which involved joint meetings with me, my accountant and their solicitors. As a result of this, we were able to agree phased funding drawdown that enabled me to progress the project ahead of obtaining pre-commencement condition sign off, with further drawdowns post obtaining these, through to completion of the project. They were additionally able to work with me as the costings to the project changed and critically, to adapt funding during the project to enable me to acquire further property assets. Their flexibility throughout has been critical to success of the project.
Rob Richier - Director, The Warrant Officer Limited
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