Fiduciam, the short to medium term lender specialising in business and overseas lending, has just expanded into another European country, opening an office in Frankfurt, Germany.

Fiduciam has set up a lending structure in co-operation with Germany’s MHB-Bank in Frankfurt. It has set up a German subsidiary, Fiduciam GmbH, which received its licence in January, to offer German SMEs and entrepreneurs bridging finance solutions.

It will also provide loans through UK brokers who have clients with property in Germany.

Last year Fiduciam expanded its lending over real estate security in France and Spain and opened up an office in Utrecht in the Netherlands.This means Fiduciam is now providing bridging loans secured over real estate in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Germany.

Fiduciam will grant loans in Germany ranging from €500k to €25 million, with interest rates starting at just 0.6% per month with terms of up to three years.

Johan Groothaert, CEO of Fiduciam, said: “Germany is facing substantial housing shortages, with population growth picking up after two decades of stagnation. This is driving an active real estate market with strengthening prices.

“At the same time, the German economy is characterized by a very dynamic SME sector, which continues to go from strength to strength, now representing more than 50% of the total added value generated by the German corporate sector. This makes it the perfect time to enter the German market with array of short and medium-term loans aimed at SMEs.”

Robin Felgenhauer, Fiduciam’s BDM for Germany, added: “The savings banks and co-operative people’s banks which traditionally financed German entrepreneurs, have been in retreat, as their loan books are now subject to Basel III regulations. In particular, there is clearly a shortage of supply for loans under €10 million, which is Fiduciam’s sweet spot.”

Henrik Takkenberg, co-founder of Fiduciam, added: “We have been impressed by the strong demand of applications we have received already, in particular from German developers, some of them coming through London brokerage channels.

“We believe Germany will represent an important part of the Fiduciam loan book as our company continues to develop.”