Matthew Watson

West One completes £14.3m bridging loan in 21 days




Specialist lender West One Loans has provided a £14.3m bridging loan to an Essex-based property investor to pay off his existing mortgages.

In 21 days, West One Loans completed the loan at 65% LTV, with a term of 12 months and a rate of 0.9%.

The investor — who owned three commercial units, a car showroom, leisure park and warehouse space, which had a combined value of £22m — was required to provide an early repayment in full on an existing mortgage totalling £7m, in addition to having another £6m mortgage outstanding.

Both loans were cross-collateralised over the three commercial units, which would have been put into administration if they weren’t settled.

The client approached specialist broker Affinity Specialist Finance, which then contacted West One with the details of the case.

The specialist lender was able to offer a larger facility by using a mixture of retained and serviced interest.

It also sped up the transaction process by arranging a site visit as early as possible and, once all parties were satisfied, the paperwork and legal processes were pushed through quickly, enabling West One to complete in just three weeks from receiving the application.

As a result, the client was able to pay off the two existing mortgages and subsequently stop his commercial properties from going to auction.

He was also able to keep all his assets and Affinity Specialist Finance is assisting him in acquiring a new commercial mortgage to pay off the bridging loan and minimise the monthly cost of the debt.

“The speed, flexibility and vast experience within our underwriting team was key in supporting the borrower to achieve their long-term investment goals in getting bridge finance in place,” said Matthew Watson, BDM for bridging and development at West One Loans (pictured above).

“With a tight deadline to meet, it was equally important for Affinity Specialist Finance to select an appropriate lender for the case, and to submit a perfectly packaged application from the outset to avoid any unnecessary delays further down the line.”

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