Just one year since its entry into the bridging world, a central London-based lender has officially launched its own secured income fund.

Paxton Private Finance LLP declared the launch of the Paxton Secured Income Fund last week, after completion of the first round of investment which was oversubscribed.

Nick McLean, Partner at Paxton Private Finance, said: “As the demand for short-term finance has increased, so too has the need to diversify our funding sources, and we are delighted that the launch of the Paxton Secured Income Fund will provide a broadening of our funding base.”

Mr McLean explained that the new source of funds would allow the lender to look ‘outside the box’ when it came to underwriting more complex cases.

“Having our own income fund gives us the ability to lend in a much wider range of circumstances, structuring the loan to the needs of the borrower” he said.

Paxton, who carry out solely non-regulated business, hope that the fund will enable them to expand their ‘bespoke’ lending platform to a wider scope of property developers and other experienced borrowers.

Loans will be provided to a maximum 75% LTV ratio for up to six months, the nature of the fund’s structure is such that it is likely to be protected from exposure to market movements.

FSA-regulated operators Real Estate Associates Ltd, who structured the fund, noted that since the scheme had been set up as an English limited partnership, the quarterly income distributions could be made gross of tax.    

Alan Bate, Director of Real Estate Associates Ltd, said: "The new scheme joins REAL's stable of twenty specialist property and debt funds, giving  sophisticated investors access to experienced niche managers like Paxton Private Finance through a simple, tax-transparent onshore structure.”

David Kinane, Partner at Paxton Private Finance, concluded: “Our facilities will provide the ‘missing link’ for many property developers. This is not ‘tick-box’ lending, it’s about making sensible decisions and acting on them quickly.”