Jon Salisbury, MD at Ortus Secured Finance

Ortus completes commercial bridging loan using pre Covid-19 valuation




Ortus Secured Finance has completed a £900,000 commercial bridging loan using a pre Covid-19 valuation.

The deal — which was introduced by Eric Savill, executive consultant at BTG Advisory — was secured over a commercial site in East Anglia to fund a restructuring exercise and the modernisation of some of the buildings.

The property comprised a tannery that had been in operation for over 100 years.

Ortus inspected the site, listened to the explanations provided by the borrower, and was assisted by an expert and pragmatic valuation firm.

However, the specialist lender did face challenges, such as a convoluted propco/opco (operating company/property company) structure, which had evolved over a long period of time.

Due to its previous experience with complex borrower arrangements, and with the help of its lawyers, Ortus was able to keep the legal costs down and deliver in the timescale required.

“My client was very pleased to see this bridging loan completed as they had some key timelines to meet as part of their strategy,” said Eric.

“The fact that Ortus relied on a pre Covid-19 valuation was particularly important to keep the momentum moving towards completion.

“Funds were drawn after the Covid-19 lockdown, with any hurdles being swiftly overcome by all parties working together [and] focused on getting the deal done.”

Jon Salisbury, managing director at Ortus (pictured above), added: “It’s so rewarding to get good feedback from respected firms like BTG Advisory.

“I’m lucky to have such a great team of colleagues who can deliver when it matters.

“This deal also benefited from a borrower who was sensible, pragmatic and just a thoroughly decent person.

“All these things combined to help us overcome the challenges presented by [the] lockdown and ensure the deal completed on time.”

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