UTB completes £16.2m refinance of £26.9m south London mixed-use asset

United Trust Bank (UTB) Structured Property Finance has provided a £16.2m investment facility to refinance a substantial £26.9m mixed-use residential and office property in south London.

The transaction was introduced to Andy Thomson in UTB’s real estate finance division by Gordon Clements of Morgan Allen Property Surveyors on behalf of the Patel family.

The Patel family has a substantial real estate portfolio and has owned the property for more than 35 years; the site was originally the home of a large photographic processing facility.

The family subsequently redeveloped the site to create 24 residential apartments and approximately 18,500 sq ft of office accommodation.

The family intends to retain the asset and wished to refinance their existing expiring debt to a new five-year facility at a competitive fixed rate appropriate for its long-term ownership strategy.

Jayesh Patel, representing the family, said: “This property has been part of our family’s portfolio for more than 35 years and remains an important long-term asset for us, so finding the right funding partner was essential.

“We wanted a solution which gave us certainty for the next five years without unnecessary complications.

“Gordon and the UTB team understood that from the beginning and worked together to deliver exactly what we required.”

Gordon commented: “Our clients knew what they wanted from the outset — a competitive five-year facility from a lender that understood both the quality of the asset and their long-term plans for it.

“UTB took a pragmatic and commercial approach and the structured property finance team at UTB were straightforward to deal with throughout.”

Andy Thomson from United Trust Bank’s real estate finance division said: “This was a substantial transaction but, importantly, the client's requirement was actually very straightforward.

“They had a high-quality, well-established mixed-use asset which had been in the family for more than three decades and simply wanted a competitive, long-term funding solution delivered efficiently and with certainty.”