Pressure is mounting on the government to tackle the UK’s housing crisis, which has been described as the biggest domestic policy challenge of our generation [1]. According to recent data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, work started on only 39,510 new homes between July and September 2019, down 11% from a year earlier. Over the 12 months to the end of September 2019, work began on 157,550 new homes, down 7% from a year earlier [2].
Meanwhile, Britain has no shortage of old Victorian buildings, often old factories or industrial buildings. One of the solutions that has long been put forward to tackle the housing crisis is the conversion of such old Victorian buildings into residential accommodation. At Blend Network, we recently funded the acquisition of one such very exciting project which we wanted to share with you: the conversion of an old shoe factory sitting in a lovely Victorian building into 24 bespoke residential apartments.
The property developers behind the project, a very experienced team of Whitebox Property Solutions and Provident Homes.
We were able to provide a 12-month loan of £460,000 towards the site acquisition – £800,000 with approximately £36,000 of stamp duty and legal fees on top. The borrower injected approximately £390,000 of hard equity into the deal. We were happy to provide a flexible lending facility with the first 6 months’ interest rolled up and added to the capital and monthly interest only payments payable on the augmented capital thereafter.
It was not surprising that our lenders snapped up this deal and the loan was funded in 29 minutes!
Here’s what the borrowers had to say about Blend Network:
We are delighted to have got our project funded by Blend Network. This loan will allow us to convert this neglected Victorian treasure into much-needed accommodation with detailed planning permission to convert into 24 bespoke apartments in Northamptonshire. As a developer we are experienced in a variety of investment strategies and there is not a shortage of opportunities available. However, many opportunities have been delayed, frustrated or lost due to the constrained nature of most lenders we have experienced in the past. This however was not the case with Blend Network.
-Dr Fahd Khan, Director of Provident Homes Ltd-
From our experience, the lack of support is caused by a limited understanding from most lenders, choosing to create a finance package that is ignorant of the true requirements in the development process. It was very refreshing to work with a company that understood the process well so could recognise the opportunities available and thus able to finance accordingly. As property Development educators we would recommend Blend Network to our students and other property developers.
-Lloyd Girardi, Director of White Box Property Solutions Ltd-
If you also have a property project that you are looking to fund, send us an email at enquiries@blendnetwork.com or give us a call at 020 3409 3300 to discuss your deals. We are here to talk!
[1] Source: The Telegraph
[1] Source: Homebuilding & Renovating
Blend Network News 