Ortus Secured Finance – 1st month in business

A new commercial lender has made a strong start in a busy market place after securing a number of high-profile deals only a month after it launched.

Ortus Secured Finance, which was launched in March by ex-executives of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander, has continued to improve its reputation in the pub and commercial property lending sector after an impressive first month.

Ortus Capital, which launched in 2010, advised and arranged both debt and equity financing for Red Oak Taverns in obtaining 32 freehold pubs and word soon spread, and it was being approached with new enquiries.

Recognising the difficulty in obtaining finance from high street banks, and with a number of Ortus Capital’s own clients already seeking direct funding from the firm, Ortus Secured Finance was born in order to best use the expertise available to its founders.

Since then, the lender has proved its efficiency by signing off a number of deals offering credit approved terms on over ten transactions, just four weeks since it was first launched.

B&C asked Richard Beenstock, Managing Director at the commercial funder, about how Ortus’ first month has gone, in what is already a competitive industry.

He said: “We have been very pleased with the deal flow since launching in early March and as a privately-funded lender we’re able to do a lot more. We were able to complete our first transaction within a couple of weeks of launch. This was a £1 million loan in the leisure sector. We currently have a number of potential deals in the due diligence phase and are expecting to meet our growth targets this year.

“Whilst we have been very pleased with deals completed so far and the depth of our pipeline we remain very keen to meet new brokers and further increase deal flow. We continue to focus on the pub and leisure sector although will consider all asset backed opportunities.”

Indeed, the firm’s underwriters have been working closely with a number of specialist brokers over the past month to take a number of varied deals to completion.

John Mitchell, Associate Director at Christie Finance, has brought a number of opportunities to Ortus’ team within the pub and leisure industry, covering cases ranging from freehold acquisition through to deals for underperforming commercial units.

He said: “Working with Ortus, compared to high street lenders, is refreshing as there is a genuine desire to table a solution to aid the borrower. We’ve worked with Ortus to assist pub operators with loan requirements from £100,000 to £2 million, but also hoteliers and property investors.

“I’ve predominantly worked with Richard Beenstock, who is more than happy to meet with our clients at short notice and typically provides terms within 24-48 hours. Their willingness to commit to a deal provides us with absolute confidence to deliver funding solutions to our clients. Too many lenders prolong the loan application procedure and struggle to make quick, transparent terms in a sector that many traditional lenders shied away from.

“Ortus is possibly the only lender which seeks to make a commercial decision based on the facts of the deal and price its terms to reflect the risk.”

Similarly, Neil Harris of Pioneer Finance has seen deals pass through to completion with Ortus. Neil told B&C: “We have completed a bridging loan with numerous titles with Ortus Secured Finance, with Richard and their legal team moving swiftly to complete this complex transaction.

“We would highly recommend Ortus Secured Finance for its professional service and speed of completion.”