Matthew Davies

Opes Financial Partners completes complex £38m funding package with OakNorth and Tuscan




Opes Financial Partners recently teamed up with OakNorth Bank and Tuscan Capital to complete a complex funding package totalling £38m for an existing client.

The security of the property investor and developer consisted of a north east London property portfolio, held in 12 different structures, with a combined value of £62m.

OakNorth provided £32.7m of term funding to support the refinancing of one property and the acquisition of three, which consists of 18 houses, 62 apartments (of which five are affordable homes or social housing) and three commercial units.

Matthew Davies, co-founder of Opes Financial Partners (pictured above), stated that the client was able to borrow a higher amount because it was lent on value, rather than purchase price.

“The key challenges here — [despite] borrowing against a higher market value — were the concentration of units in one area, the fact that there were social housing units that needed funding, and the mixed uses of the various commercial property elements of the transaction,” he said.

“I was really impressed by the confidence and resolve OakNorth Bank showed to get this transaction delivered in difficult market conditions.”

Hemesh Patel, property finance director at OakNorth Bank, added: “It was a pleasure to work with Matthew and the rest of the team at Opes Financial Partners to support such a complex and large property deal. 

“Despite the current market challenges, it’s great to be able to continue lending to the property sector, [one] that has been largely impacted by the lockdown.”

In addition, Tuscan Capital completed a bridging loan of just over £6m to release equity from some assets that were historically held in a trust for the client by a third party.

The funding will be used as part of the capital injection into the purchases that OakNorth completed.

The loan consisted of two main assets, including a 5,000 sq ft house in Camden and 10 apartments across two adjacent blocks.

“When properties are not in a client’s ownership and are transferred to a client under market value, there are always challenges,” Matthew explained.

“We were really fortunate that by being honest and transparent, the team at Tuscan were able to take an entrepreneurial view.”

The loan will be drawn in three separate tranches.

Colin Sanders, CEO at Tuscan Capital, commented: “We have been working with Matthew and the team at Opes Financial Partners on this complex transaction for some time.
 
“The transparent and professional presentation of the deal meant that we were able to commit to support it sometime before lockdown. 

“I’m delighted that we have been able to bring the deal to completion during these challenging times as it’s a deal which works well for all parties concerned and proves good business can be done during the pandemic.”

Matthew added: “Tuscan [was] always supportive and, although there were complications to finalise this transaction [amid] lockdown, I am pleased that, together, we accomplished what others could not.” 

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