Arc & Co. has completed three buy-to-let transactions with GB Bank over the past three months, totalling £19.5 million.
The transactions, arranged by Nikita Nigai, head of international at Arc & Co., span a range of borrower profiles and property types, underlining GB Bank’s willingness to back unconventional structures and Arc & Co.’s strength in structuring and execution.
PRIMROSE HILL REFINANCE
The largest of the three, a £13.5 million refinance of a prime £20 million property in Primrose Hill, enabled a foreign ultra-high-net-worth client to refinance £10 million of existing private bank debt and release further equity to grow their portfolio.
The buy-to-let property’s ownership structure and the client’s cross-border profile added to the complexity, while the borrower requested a hybrid fixed and variable rate structure over a five-year term. GB Bank’s flexibility and Arc & Co.’s structuring expertise enabled completion at 67% LTV, the firms said.
MULTI-UNIT LET IN KENT
The second transaction involved a £3.5 million facility secured against a block of 19 apartments in Kent, all leased to the local council on a fixed annual premium basis.
At 70% LTV over a five-year term, the deal reflected GB Bank’s appetite for larger multi-unit portfolios with secure, long-term local authority leases — a growing sub-sector within buy-to-let lending.
NEW-BUILD COMPLETION
The final transaction was a £2.5 million loan secured against seven apartments occupying a full floor of a new-build development in North West London.
The deal was complicated by a more than 10% down-valuation, reduced expected rental income, and a tight developer deadline. Despite the challenges — including an overseas borrower and a high-risk completion window — Arc & Co. and GB Bank successfully concluded the transaction on a three-year term.
COMPLEXITY AND COLLABORATION
Nigai (pictured) said: “Each of these deals presented significant hurdles — cross-border complexities, absent tenancy documentation, valuation challenges, and extreme time pressure, and yet completing £19.5 million across the three transactions in as many months demonstrates Arc & Co.’s ability to structure and execute complex residential finance where conventional lending parameters simply don’t apply.
“The £13.5 million Primrose Hill refinance required 18 months of engagement, including identifying the right lender and navigating intricate underwriting processes to achieve private bank rates at high LTV without AUM requirements.
“The Wembley transaction involved managing a down-valuation, postponed completions, and imminent default risk.”
He added: “Our expertise lies in understanding which lenders can accommodate specific complexity and how to structure transactions to align borrower needs with lender appetite.
“GB Bank’s flexibility as a relatively new entrant has been instrumental, and these completions reflect our ability to deliver solutions for clients that high street lenders and traditional private banks cannot serve.”
The three transactions bring Arc & Co.’s total loan volume with GB Bank to £19.5 million.
