Martin Gilsenan, Omni Capital's sales director, spoke exclusively to B&C about two of the lender's successful partnerships. Featuring multiple transactions completed over an extended period, he said they illustrate how specialist lenders have helped change permanently the funding landscape.

Arc & Company is a leading boutique consultancy based in the heart of London's Mayfair. With specialist divisions that include marine, aviation, commercial and mortgages, it provides clients with advice and guidance across a range of luxury lifestyle sectors. But it is the opportunities offered by prime residential real estate that has allowed the relationship with Omni to flourish.

Martin said: "Arc & Co. under the leadership of Andrew Robinson and Ed Horn-Smith is a highly professional, polished act. They know their markets and serve their clients with a precision and passion that should be a model for all. That passion can sometimes make for lively debate during the transaction process, but we'd always rather that than hands-off, imprecise, remote engagement."

In the past few months, Arc & Co. has successfully introduced four deals to Omni resulting in a total transaction value of £26.5m. The lowest value deal was for £2.6m and the highest £10.5m - this being a second charge which the lender believes to be the largest of its type ever completed in the UK.

Spread across properties in the prime London postcode areas of SW3 and SW10, the average LTV was just under 72% for terms ranging from three to 15 months.

Martin told B&C: "Arc & Co. serves a clientele well-suited to Omni. They are, rightly, demanding and know what they want. The deals presented to us are as challenging as any the market might see. Often involving complex corporate envelopes, they require skilful handling and a forensic attention to detail. The fact Arc & Co. entrust them to us is, I believe, testament to how far specialist lenders have evolved."

Martin spoke of another of the lender's long term relationships which he believes highlights Omni Capital's success in attracting business from less orthodox sources. Whilst reaffirming Omni's commitment to brokers, he said the lender's nuanced proposition continued to attract interest from a broader range of parties requiring real estate financing.

He explained: "Since re-launching our offering in 2011, we have deliberately sought out markets less well-served by traditional short term lenders. Backed and funded by a parent skilled in these areas, we have established a number of successful relationships with individuals or businesses that cannot comfortably be described as brokers or introducers. They don't compete with brokers because they've always had direct access to finance. What we've done is to replace the facilities they once enjoyed with their banks."

Highlighting one such relationship - the name of which he wished to keep confidential - Martin used the example of an individual investor highly experienced in acquiring and developing prime central London assets.

Since 2013, this one client has completed five funding transactions with Omni for a total of £7.7m. Spread across properties in W1, W2 and W8, the smallest value transaction was for just £263,000 and the highest £2.2m. The average LTV was 75% and the loan terms from two to six months.

Martin concluded: "Like us, I suspect many lenders entered the bridging market unsure how long the opportunity offered by the retreat of the banks would last. But it's the gift that appears to keep on giving.

"We're certainly not complacent about the future. Quite the opposite given the pressure on margins, challenges in parts of the London market, and the fact there's more money available than good deals to absorb it. But good lenders will thrive.

"The key for us has always been relationships." he observed. "Where I take comfort is from our success, and that of others, in wooing hard-headed business folk away from the banks. The bankers certainly haven't helped themselves in this regard, but by proving we have permanent capital in the market, I'm convinced that the long-term prospects for the specialists are good."