Brightstar Financial has completed an £8m development exit loan on an apartment block, in a deal funded buy Castle Trust.
Brightstar’s client had built a block of apartments using development finance that was due for redemption. Some of the units were due to be sold to a Housing Association, but the sales were delayed and the client faced the prospect of defaulting with the development lender. To make matters more complicated, there was an ongoing legal dispute, which needed to be resolved prior to completion of the loan.
Brightstar was able to bring together all of the parties to resolve the legal dispute and secure the development exit funding. This was structured by Castle Trust as two simultaneous bridging loans, one with interest serviced on a monthly basis and the other with rolled up interest. This provided the client with a way of managing their cash flow until the Housing Association sales go through and longer term finance can be sourced for the remaining apartments.
Rob Jupp, group CEO of Brightstar Financial and Sirius Property Finance, said: “This case is a really excellent example of how working with the right partner can make the seemingly impossible, completely achievable and deliver a great outcome for the client.
“There were so many hurdles to overcome, but our team were focused on delivering a solution and were able to use their specialist knowledge and experience to find a way through. I would also like to thank the fantastic effort and understanding from Castle Trust.
“Our relationship with the lender meant we were able to work together to structure a loan with a high exposure that took legal charge over the entire development and secured funding on a high LTV against the block value of the site. This demonstrates the value of great partnerships.”
Barry Searle, managing director of mortgages at Castle Trust, added: “If you were looking for an example of why it’s important to work with specialist intermediaries and lenders that understand the market and how to structure solutions, there would be few better contenders than this case.
“The client faced a real problem, but we were able to work together with Brightstar to get them out of a hole and deliver a solution that will help them to achieve a successful result to their development.”
