Recognise Bank has completed a £5 million Professional buy-to-let (PBTL) refinance deal on a large portfolio of properties, following the launch of its new PBTL proposition earlier this month.

The bank completed the funding for a family-owned property investment company to refinance its portfolio of over 100 properties in the Manchester area. Despite the size of the portfolio, Recognise was able to complete the deal quickly under tight timescales. It provided a £5 million PBTL loan at 3.49% with an LTV of 50%, fixed for five years,

The client was introduced to the bank by Nick Bennett, Managing Director of real estate financing consultancy, Navitaur Limited, who worked closely with Recognise Bank on the large and complex deal.

Following a trial with a small number of advisers, Recognise Bank launched its PBTL loan, which is available for professional landlords and property investors with portfolios of four properties or more, on 17 November. The product is available for both new acquisitions and to refinance existing portfolios.

Jackie Skelt, regional director, London and Midlands, Recognise Bank, said: “This was one of our first PBTL deals and it proved that our personal approach to the sector is really powerful. By working with Nick Bennett, we were able to meet his client’s requirements and complete the multimillion-pound deal quickly.

“We know that many advisors struggle getting large buy-to-let portfolios financed with some other lenders, because they don’t have the expertise or one to one relationships needed to complete such large deals. We are already seeing a lot of interest in the new product.”

Nick Bennett, managing director, Navitaur Limited, added: “I have been really impressed with the way Recognise Bank assisted me in structuring this PTBL facility for my client. Within my client base I have a small portfolio of family owned property investment companies and the flexibility demonstrated from the top down is exactly what my clients look for.

“It has been a real pleasure to work with Recognise Bank and benefit from its service offering, with real relationship banking, including pragmatism and autonomy. From my initial experience this model should be incredibly successful.”