Recognise Bank has agreed a £5 million commercial loan with property company Grangewood Investments in order to refinance and raise equity on two commercial investment properties on the Oakwood Hill Industrial Estate in Loughton, Essex.

One building houses serviced offices for a number of SMEs and is partially owner-occupied. The other is a development made up of repurposed shipping containers and leased to various businesses, the anchor tenant being a Costa coffee shop.

The client was introduced to Recognise Bank by advisers Jon Dibble and Michael Oats from PIA Financial Group. The deal, which was offered with an initial interest-only period, was completed quickly and ahead of schedule due to the collaboration between key stakeholders including lawyers, valuer, introducer, client and lender.

Oats said: “I had worked with Grangewood Investments previously, so I knew how strong the business was. I was initially concerned about finding the right lender because the assets were purely commercial, a situation which has proven tricky since the start of the Covid pandemic.

“However, as soon as I discussed the case with Recognise Bank, any fears I had completely disappeared. The Bank’s process was very easy, and the team made onboarding a pleasure. I’d like to say thanks again to the team at Recognise Bank for their efforts in getting this over the line.”

Shami Sharma, business development manager at Recognise Bank, added: “This case had a few challenges, including the quirky nature of the shipping container development and a tight timescale from the borrower. However, we worked as a team with the other stakeholders, which meant we were able to move quickly and efficiently to complete the deal two weeks ahead of schedule.”