PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT FINANCE
BESPOKE / CREATIVE / FLEXIBLE
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE TAILORED TO YOU.
As a leading UK broker for all forms of property development finance, we work tirelessly to ensure you receive the best rates, market-leading customer service, and the most efficient financing process in the business.
At Tiger, we understand that each project is different and needs its own tailored solution. Our team of experts carefully examine every aspect of the deal, structuring each loan on a bespoke basis, so you can achieve the best chance of a successful financing outcome.
We constantly strive to add value, using our in depth knowledge of the development finance markets, negotiating with lenders, driving down fees, and promoting the merits of your project every step of the way. We live by our motto: “your success is our success”.
BESPOKE DEVELOPMENT FINANCE SOLUTIONS
A tailored property development finance package can be set up for every need, whether the requirement is for regular senior development finance, mezzanine finance, hybrid stretched senior development finance, or a bridging loan to acquire the property. If the project is viable, we are sure to have a solution.
- Stretched senior up to 90% loan to build cost.
- JV development finance up to 100% build cost
- Mezzanine loans up to 75% LTGDV
- Hybrid super mezz/equity for higher LTV’s
- JV/Equity to sit on top of senior debt
- Bridging loans for site acquisition.
- Bridging loan pending planning or change of use.
- Bridging loan to exit the development finance
- Bridging loan to finish and exit.
- Residential and commercial development finance.
- UK and Western Europe.
- New developer finance option.
- No developer PG option.
- Senior investment and family office loans are also available.
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT LOANS
There are multiple factors that lenders will look at when deciding whether to offer you a loan, such as developer experience, your credit profile, what you are planning to build, the demand in that location, land cost, development costs and profitability, the gross development value (GDV), how you intend to repay the loan and importantly, how much cash/equity you are willing to commit to the project.
Ground-up development finance is typically available as follows:
- UK and Western Europe.
- Maximum LTC: up to 90%
- Minimum Loan: £100k
- Max LTGDV: up to 75%
- Maximum Loan: none
- Rates: from 4.99% PA
- Term: up to 48 months +
- No PG or Debenture Option
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT LOANS
Property development loans that are not residential fall under the commercial category, which can cover office blocks, hotels, factories, and everything in between.
Unlike with residential funding, a commercial development finance lender will often require some form of secured exit from the loan, before work commences, such as a contract with a hotel operator, or a lease agreement from a company with a strong covenant.
Commercial development finance is typically available as follows:
- UK.
- Maximum LTC: up to 85%
- Minimum Loan: £100k
- Maximum LTGDV: up to 70%
- Maximum Loan: none
- Rates: from 6% PA
- Term: up to 48 months +
- Senior term loans also available
IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE PROJECT AND YOUR FUNDING REQUEST, WE WILL NEED AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE FROM THE PROPERTY DEVELOPER:
- Executive summary of the project
- Development/business CV of financial sponsors
- Any valuation that has been done
- Development appraisal
- Any comparable research you have done.
- Cashflow/schedule of works
- Any CGI, Matterport, photos, drawings
- If a leasehold; tenancy schedule and lease terms
- How do you plan to repay the loan?
- Marketing and sales strategy
PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT FINANCE – TIPS BEFORE YOU APPLY
From our experience arranging development finance for all different types of developer and asset classes throughout the UK and Europe, the following tips should help you make a better informed choice on which funding package is right for you.
1. MARKET RESEARCH
The first rule of any property development project is to really understand the needs and wants of potential buyers. Which are the up and coming areas? If it’s a university town or city, where do students live? Where are the best schools?
For larger schemes, it is important to perform a feasibility study and understand all the factors that could affect its viability. The surveyor will need to analyze local micro factors as well as larger macro factors in order for you to make an informed decision about the likely success and profitability of your project.
This way you won’t be building 4-bedroom family homes in an area that really needs affordable homes for first-time buyers, or building PBSA student accommodation in an area that is already saturated or is actually in need of HMO accommodation for a local professional workforce, such as close to a hospital.
2. REALISM IS KEY
Don’t expect the lender or valuer to be optimistic or give you the benefit of the doubt.
You should always be honest and realistic about:
- Your experience
- What you expect the end values to be. In fact, you should always think worst case.
- What you expect the build costs to be. Just because you have a cheap work crew that is 30% under market cost, the lender will always calculate their risk based on the average labour cost and material cost in that area, just in case they have to step in and take over the project.
- It is best for everyone to work on conservative figures with a good contingency.
- The timescales. Always give yourself breathing space to allow for unforeseen construction delays and sales delays. The last thing you want to be doing is worrying about a refinance when you are in the last stages of your project.
3. USE A SPECIALIST FINANCE BROKER SUCH AS TIGER
There is a myriad of niche funders, development finance platforms, family offices, hedge funds, venture capital firms, private equity funds, alternative lenders, and banks that can offer funding opportunities to you. These types of financial institutions all have their own quirks and nuances. It’s impossible for anyone other than a specialist development finance broker to truly exploit the opportunities found in such a complex and fragmented finance market place.
A good broker will also make the process of getting funding easier and less stressful. They can draft a formal application that will increase your chances of being approved, as well as point out any areas where you may need to do more work in order to be eligible for financing.
4. PLANNING CONSENT
It is often the case that refurbishments and conversions use permitted development rights as the planning mechanism by which consent is attained for the project.
If you do need planning permission, you will be unable to apply for the loan until this has been granted, except in the case where you are using a bridging loan to acquire the site, while the planning process runs its course.
Therefore, it is a good idea to use the services of a specialist planning consultant who can get a pre-application advice advisory from the local planning authority, which will give you a good indication of the likelihood of your planning application being successful.
5. BE CAREFUL WHICH MAIN CONTRACTOR YOU USE
As well as your experience as the developer, the lender will also pay close attention to who you have selected to be your main contractor.
The lender will want to ensure that the main contractor:
- Has experience in the type of project you are proposing
- Has built a project of comparable size before
- Is familiar with the type of challenges that may be faced with your project, such as with period buildings, barn conversions, party walls, inner-city construction.
- Has 3 years of profitable accounts and a decent balance sheet
- Has sufficient cashflow to float 1 or 2 months costs if so required
6. CHOOSE YOUR SOLICITOR CAREFULLY
The smooth running and efficiency of your transaction will be most heavily influenced by the experience, motivation, responsiveness, and professionalism of your solicitor.
The lender’s solicitor is motivated because they want to keep the regular business from their client. You are motivated because you want to do your deal. The finance broker is motivated because he wants to get paid. However, your solicitor gets paid regardless, you are just one of many clients, and he or she probably doesn’t give a fig whether your deal completes or not, or whether it happens in 3 weeks or 3 months. You must choose wisely, or it can be a very painful process.
7. THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT EXIT STRATEGY when taking property finance
Foremost in the mind of the lender is how they are going to be repaid. Depending on the scheme, this can be one of several ways, which may or may not need to be evidenced to the lender before completion of the loan.
Of course, the most common would be to sell the development once it has been built. For smaller schemes, this may mean just advertising off plan as soon as possible with a local agent. For larger schemes, this may mean building a show home, and sourcing pre-sales from a local housing association, or specialist off plan house buyer.
If using a refinance as the main mechanism to repay the development loan, then the lender may require a decision in principle or offer letter, to prove that this is a viable exit solution.
In some cases with a commercial development, such as with a hotel, office or shop, you may be building the project on the basis that it will be tenanted when complete. If this is the case, the lender will need to see some form of contract/LOI/lease agreement, to evidence that your exit is suitable.
Development exit finance is also available for both refurbishment and new build ground up developments when the developer wishes to repay the development loan and release some equity contained in the project. This is short term loan rather than a mortgage pending sale of the property.
HOW MUCH CAN I BORROW FOR PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT?
The amount you can borrow and the interest rate are dependent on many factors. Below is a list of the main factors that affect the loan amount that you can borrow for your property finance:
- Borrowers experience
- Borrowers credit history
- Borrowers background net worth
- The land cost/purchase price
- The build cost/refurbishment cost.
- The gross development value
- Whether it is a new build, mixed use or multi unit.
- The feasibility
Tiger Financial Ltd is a financial services company registered in England no: 10225910. Tiger Financial Ltd is directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) no 915106. The FCA does not regulate all mortgage, commercial mortgages or bridging loan products. Think carefully before securing debts against your home. Your home could be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it.
Data Protection No ZA470485