The challenger bank provided the funds to Hillstone Developments which was seeking finance after receiving approval to build 146 student apartments near Edinburgh University.

The deal was introduced to Secure Trust Bank by Goodman Corporate Finance after the developer struggled to find finance from Scottish mainstream banks.

David Cunningham, Head of Real Estate Finance, North at Secure Trust Bank, said: “This funding deal was our first venture in Scotland and builds on our growing capability in the purpose-built student accommodation sector, where we have a real appetite for good schemes. 

“We worked closely with Goodman Corporate Finance in structuring the funding, which has enabled Hillstone to develop a brown field site. 

“We are looking to do many more schemes in Scotland.”

Robin Daw, Associate at Goodman Corporate Finance, also revealed it was its first Scottish deal, said it could see that the project was strong and knew Secure Trust Bank was looking for large funding opportunities. 

“I’m delighted that we were able to put together a package that really fits what [Hillside Developments] needed, and that we were able to bring Secure Trust into Scotland for the first time.

“At the moment there aren’t many lenders who are able to fund large schemes in Scotland, but we have more than 200 funders available to us and so can access a huge range of flexible funding options to come up with the right match for each client. 

“We hope this will be the first of many new opportunities north of the border.”

Paul Hepburn, Owner of Hillstone Developments, added that Goodman Corporate Finance had made the arrangement process much easier.

“They stayed involved in the process right the way through to make sure everything went through smoothly. 

“They were available out of hours and were very flexible, very committed and really very knowledgeable. 

“They certainly went beyond just introducing us and worked closely with us on both sides to make sure we got the best deal and were happy with the security and all the details.”

Building work on the development is due to start in late spring with the project due to be completed by summer 2017.