Two Asian investors were looking to refinance three out of four properties from their commercial property portfolio, which comprised a student accommodation block, a large government building, an office block and a job centre.

These properties are spread across London, Bradford, Scotland and Wales, which made matters more complicated.

The clients were hoping to purchase the fourth property, but the tenants – a government department – had publicly announced they were potentially going to utilise the break-clause in their contract, resulting in the tenancy of the unit being unsecure.

The clients’ assets were also owned in a complex manner as they were held in special purpose vehicles across three jurisdictions: China, Guernsey and the British Virgin Islands.

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Chris Whitney, senior broker at Enness Commercial – who worked behind the case (pictured above) – said: “Gatehouse’s flexible approach made them the ideal match for this case, considering the mixed nature of the portfolio.

“Some lenders might be happy to work with the student accommodation block in Scotland, but not the property in Wales—Gatehouse was able to consider the entire portfolio, enabling us to reach this solution.

“This was an intensely complicated and challenging case, for which I was delighted to find a successful resolution.

“I was also able to utilise Enness’ extensive network to assist with the legal work, due diligence and other factors.

“On a case of this size and complexity, this work was extensive.

“This loan represents the ongoing viability of commercial property in the UK; foreign investors are certainly not being put off by Brexit, even those investors who spend very little time in the UK.”