Mortimer Street Capital has arranged a £27.5m commercial refinance bridging loan facility with Leumi UK.
The client, who is a landlord and a developer, plus also owns a construction business, was seeking terms for a portfolio of commercial investments across several legal entities. They held a current facility with a UK clearing bank and were unable to renegotiate favourable terms, so they approached MSC to investigate other options that may be available to them.
MSC was instructed by the client to structure a facility and explore options in the market that included commercial properties, residential assets, land and development sites totalling 11 securities. Also included in the security package was a site with an existing exchanged sale contract in place. After approaching multiple funders MSC achieved a best-in-market offer on an 18-month term loan.
Challenges faced included land with extant planning permission granted in 2012 that no longer conformed to current standards. MSC recommended a specialist valuer who worked with them and the client to provide a market-based valuation approach.
MSC were able to navigate all the complexities, whilst overcoming issues such as short leases, EPC ratings and commercial rental agreements on licenses and so provide the client with the refinance required.
A specialist RE banking lawyer, Numan Sultan, a partner at Gunnercooke, was also referred by MSC to the client due to the complexity and requirements of this deal. The loan was completed just 11 weeks after the legals were instructed.
The exit strategy will be a multi-pronged approach through sale of some assets as well as refinancing of some of the properties which the client will retain.
Mortimer Street Capital supports debt and equity funding solutions for its property investor, SME and High Net Worth clientele. Based in London’s West End and formed in January 2024, they have been borne out of the founding business, Visionary Finance, which has established a client base over the past 15 years.
Hiten Ganatra, Managing Director at Mortimer Street Capital, commented: “The complexity of this deal makes the success of it very rewarding and so I am immensely proud of the Mortimer Street Capital team in getting it over the line. A huge thanks to all parties that worked on the deal, and provided a creative solution for the client.
“Since launching at the start of the year, we delivered positive outcomes for many clients with complex deals like this, plus we have harnessed relationships with a number of lenders, like Leumi UK, who may not be widely known.”
