We were over-whelmed with the generous gifts from many friends within the industry – thank you to all those who sent flowers, baby outfits and everything else.
Our house is now over-run with pretty, pink things. From a family where the last 13 children born were all boys and she is the first girl to be born in 25 years, this is all new to me! My brother did however buy her a Chelsea FC baby-grow.
She wore it once, before I vowed never to let her wear any other sportswear, other than an England Rugby shirt of course.
This week, following on from my case-study theme, I wanted to use another real case that we completed recently.
The property was a substantial detached property (former commercial premises), set in 20 acres, with various outbuildings and an estimated valuation of £5.5 million.
There was already an existing 1st charge bridging loan secured against the property, with a balance of £3 million outstanding. The existing lender was putting the client under some considerable pressure to redeem the loan, as it was already over-term and hence in default, with a Court Order for possession.
To complicate the deal further, the property was owned in an offshore BVI Trust and occupied by the client and his immediate family, albeit via a tenancy agreement from the Trust to them personally.
As the property was owned by a Ltd Company, the deal was non-regulated and all adult occupiers were required to sign waivers. With a number of obstacles to overcome on this case and a pending possession order, time was very much of the essence.
A standard mortgage was not viable at this stage, as the client's income was largely in USD and as a result, he had very little UK taxable income in the most recent financial year. Brightstar were able to source a 1st charge bridging loan, which enabled the client to repay his existing bridging lender ahead of the possession date and raise an additional £200,000 for his latest UK business venture.
This meant the client was able to keep his family in their home, progress his business ahead of schedule and afford him up to 12 months in order to secure long-term mortgage finance at a more cost-effective level. The refinance application is already under-way and the client expects to be able to refinance the whole debt on to a mortgage within 4 months.
This is another instance that demonstrates the flexibility of bridging finance and how it can work alongside term lending, to provide a short-term funding solution until longer term finance can be put in place.
By Kit Thompson, Head of Bridging, Brightstar
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