Fiduciam has completed its first loan secured on French real estate.

The €5 million bridging loan is secured against a portfolio of French properties, including a hotel. The loan was granted for a term of two years.

This is not its first deal in Europe, however; it completed its first bridging loan in the Netherlands in 2015 and its first loan in Ireland in 2016.

Fiduciam established an office in the Netherlands earlier this year to cater for growing demand in the local market. It also has a strong following amongst Irish real estate professionals, farmers, manufacturing companies and entrepreneurs.

Last year, Fiduciam expanded into Spain; initially its bridging and development loans were aimed at UK developers in Spain who were often trying to extract liquidity from their Spanish real estate, but now Fiduciam also caters for the domestic market.

This latest deal in France marks the next stage of Fiduciam’s expansion into continental Europe and involves legal teams in the UK, France and Switzerland, which is where the client lives.

Johan Groothaert, CEO and co-founder of Fiduciam, said: “International owners of French real estate often find it very difficult to obtain finance from local banks. Only a few private banks are open to these clients and they require the clients to move part of their private banking portfolio to them.

“So we have developed a genuinely innovative structure to lend against French real estate whereby we can take security without having to take a mortgage in many cases, and our interest rates are at the same levels as in the UK.  By lending in this way, Fiduciam is able to save its clients from paying the stamp duty and notary fees, which can be very high in France.”

In order to develop and expand their offering in this growing area, Fiduciam has hired three French case managers, all based in London.

Groothaert added: “We are currently working on several other loans secured over real estate in France so expect to be announcing our next completed deal again soon.”