Atom bank has provided a £3.7 million commercial loan to an Edinburgh-based property investment company with a portfolio of commercial assets.

This resulted in the loan being completed less than three weeks after formal credit approval was received. Over the term the client is set to save up to £375,000 compared to the original offer they had before the broker approached Atom bank.

The business had an existing £1.65m loan at a lower LTV with a high street lender for its retail portfolio, but this was reaching the end of its term, and at the same time the firm was in the process of acquiring six additional properties in Edinburgh which its existing bank was unwilling to support without a significant equity injection.

It had an offer from another broker, who had sourced a bank willing to provide the full amount required for the purchase of the additional properties and refinance the existing loan with a fixed interest rate of 8.25% per annum over five years with some specific additional conditions attached.

The broker, Andrew Mackenzie of Edinburgh-based Veritas Property Finance, was instructed by the client after this initial loan offer was tabled as he was sure he could secure a better deal and approached Liam Brodie, regional BDM at Atom bank, along with a handful of other lenders.

Atom bank provided the preferred solution for the client, with an offer of a five-year loan of £3.7m with a fixed rate of 6.30% to fund the refinance of the existing loan and the purchase of five of the properties, with an additional equity investment of less than £50,000 required from the client to achieve a loan to value (LTV) of 50%.

Not only was Atom bank the most competitive lender on price, but it was also able to move very quickly, with the bank, broker, solicitors (dual representation provided by Keith Dunlop at Ennova Law) and valuers all working together to progress the case within a three week time frame.

David Castling (pictured), head of intermediaries at Atom bank, said: “This case perfectly highlights how not all lenders and brokers are alike. £375k is a huge potential saving over five years and our pricing, criteria and flexible underwriting made it a reality.

“Working with Andrew and all parties to complete the case quickly, our team pulled out all the stops to structure the loan to meet the requirements of the client. We are very competitive on price, and we’re currently averaging one working day for application to agreement in principle and 14 working days to offer, so we look forward to seeing more cases like this with a happy broker and client.”

Mackenzie, director at Veritas Property Finance, added: “I always want to get my clients the best value possible, and Atom bank really excelled themselves with this multi-million pound refinance and purchase deal. The customer was delighted with the service from Atom and is hoping to refinance further properties with the bank.

“The deal really wouldn’t have been done without the work behind the scenes by the credit underwriting team and the lending specialists at Atom bank. Hats off to the BDM, underwriter and originations team in particular for going the extra mile to get this one completed in such a short time frame – you are a real credit to your organisation.”