Capital raising for a professional services partner buying a mixed-use holiday home

A long standing partner at a leading professional services firm wanted to purchase a second home in the countryside for personal use and as a holiday-let business. With limited cash reserves, they needed to raise the full amount for the purchase, including stamp duty and fees, against their main residence. The sellers required the onward purchase to be treated as a cash transaction to avoid delays; therefore the client needed a structure that enabled them to raise the required capital quickly and demonstrate they were in a strong position to proceed.

The client planned to let the property when not in personal use, but suitable lenders for personal use and short term letting are limited and is generally against lenders covenants. Although they held significant equity in their main residence, they were tied into a long term fixed rate with a large early repayment charge, making a full remortgage extremely costly. They needed to raise capital while preserving their existing mortgage and avoiding the need to liquidate other assets.

The partnership income had varied over the previous three years and this would cause concerns for a lender on how best to assess affordability for the clients.

Drawing on his experience of supporting clients with professional services income, Drew Somerston, Private Client Director, presented the case directly to senior underwriters, outlining the applicant’s income so it accurately reflected the structure of partnership remuneration. This included explaining the shift from salaried employment to drawings and profit share, detailing the expected earnings trajectory, and providing supporting documentation from the firm’s HR and finance teams.

Drew packaged the case clearly and engaged the right lender from the outset, securing same-day underwriting reassurance and enabling the clients to demonstrate they were fully proceedable and remain competitive.

We were able to get a letter from the Senior Partner confirming the reasons for the income variations over the previous years and provide an explanation to the underwriter explaining the historical variances would not expect to be replicated going forward. A base level of expected partnership income was established which gave the underwriter comfort that the loan would be affordable in future.

The client raised £850,000 against their main residence at a market leading rate. This enabled the onward purchase to proceed as a cash transaction, meeting the sellers’ requirements and allowing the client to use the new property freely for both personal occupation and holiday letting without worrying about the constraints of a lenders covenants.
The clients were delighted with the speed and simplicity of the process, noting how seamlessly everything progressed. The case highlights our ability to raise capital efficiently, work with lenders who understand more complex requirements and deliver clear, well-structured solutions for partners and senior professionals with non-standard borrowing needs.