Managed by the team in the Edinburgh office of Signature Property Finance, a bridging loan of £898k was provided to experienced professional property investors and developers operating a newly incorporated business in Scotland.
“With so many interested parties, we always knew getting this deal over the line would be a tough, slow process. But Alan and his team in Edinburgh ensured everyone stuck to the schedule and our client got the funding they needed, when they needed it. This is another high-quality development that strengthens the rental property market in Scotland."
Clear Sky Financial Services
A complex transaction takes time
This was far from the traditional deal, with Signature being asked to bridge the clients assets following their transfer into a new limited company, to enable them to complete their unfinished development of a property into 11 flats, in the outskirts of Edinburgh.
By providing the bridging loan funding in the name of the limited company, the developers can transfer properties from their partnership and complete their development, with repayment to be achieved by conversion of the developed flats onto buy-to-let (BTL) funding.
This complicate portfolio included four commercial properties and one residential property, all with tenants providing yearly income to the developers, along with the current conversion and flats refurbishment project underway in Edinburgh.
Signature Property Finance was approached by the client’s broker Clear Sky Financial Services, who recognised the complex deal needed an alternative lender with a local team that could leverage local knowledge to help structure the deal and get all the parties to agree the same schedule to get the deal over the line.
A Signature solution
Having opened its first office in Edinburgh in June’19, Signature was ideally placed to manage this complex transaction with so many different elements, thanks also to the experience of the team in Scotland, headed by Alan Coats.
The numbers were never going to be a problem for this deal, once we understood the nature of the transaction, the need to move assets into the limited company and the need to manage the interests of all the parties involved, like funders, insurers, tenants, etc., which slowed the process somewhat.
This was a great team effort. From the outset Clear Sky recognised the almost overwhelming complexity of this transaction, but daily contact from the team in the Signature Edinburgh office ensured everyone was kept on track and the client achieved drawdown on schedule.
Signature agreed a loan term of 9-months, which was considered sufficient time to not only complete the development and let the newly refurbished flats, but also to refinance the property on a BTL mortgage in the name of the limited company.
To have attempted this deal from hundreds of miles away, would have been nearly impossible and demonstrates the value of Signature distributing its talented and experienced team to cover developing markets across the UK. Nothing works as well as local knowledge, applied locally.
Our local knowledge, working with a broker determined to get the best deal for their client and a client who understands the benefits of bridging as a viable financial tool ensured despite the complexity, this was another deal strengthening the residential property market in Scotland.
“Clear Sky is a great broker, committed to ensuring their client gets the best possible deal, in the timeframe required. But they also recognise when they need the support of an experienced alternative lender, with good local acknowledge to manage the deal process and deliver the necessary funds. And remember, it’s teamwork that makes the dreamwork!”
Alan Coats – Lending Manager Scotland, Signature Property Finance