Developer Exit Finance

What was the situation?

The client had an existing development finance loan facility that they wished to refinance.

What was the issue?

The client’s existing loan facility was due to expire imminently, and they required a refinance to both; avoid going onto a default interest rate and avoid putting the incumbent lender in a position where they would look to appoint receivers.

What challenges were encountered?

The valuation report for the asset came back with a lower figure than the client anticipated.

The original freeholder of the asset had recently sold the freehold to a third party company and documentation were still being exchanged between the two parties. This had the potential to create a significant delay to the legal underwriting process for the new lender.

What was the solution?

We were able to resolve the reduced valuation figure through utilising our strong existing relationship with the lender. We encouraged them to adopt a commercial view on the transaction which enabled the client to borrow the original amount they had requested despite the reduced valuation figure. We also amended the loan term to ensure we could still obtain the required loan amount.

The change of freeholder meant we needed to be fully hands-on in liaising with all parties involved and being the conduit for expediting the legal due diligence. We actively obtained required documentation directly from both the new freeholder and the previous freeholder.

Due to our proactivity and all-round involvement, the client was able to complete on the refinance within the required timescales.