Arbuthnot Specialist Finance (ASFL) has completed its first loan since announcing its launch in late May.

The deal is a 70% LTV residential product loan on a property located less than half a mile from the University of Central Lancashire campus in Preston.

The residential product loan assisted with the auction purchase of a ground floor commercial property with two separate HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) above consisting of eight and six bedrooms respectively (14 rentable rooms in total).

The client intends to complete a light refurbishment across both HMO properties. The two properties will be available to let ahead of the next academic year commencing in September 2019. The client also intends to utilise the ground floor commercial unit as a letting agency for the residential properties above.

Yasin Patel & Shoaib Bux, joint managing directors at Arbuthnot Specialist Finance, said: “We’re pleased to have been selected to provide the necessary property finance facilities, in order to achieve the purchase and refurbishment of vital student accommodation.

“In a short time, the team has shown that while ASFL can support larger, complex projects, we also have the infrastructure, short decision lines and certainty of funding to complete short dated auction proposals.”

John Waddicker, director at Positive Commercial Finance, the intermediary involved in the deal, added: “The team at ASFL were remarkably proactive in completing the deal and delivered tailored advice and support from start to finish. Good communication, swift decisions and a pragmatic approach.”