Arc & Co and Waypark Capital complete a £10.2m commercial investment term facility for the refinance of two serviced offices

Philip Kay, Senior Asset Finance Advisor at Arc & Co. has completed a £10.2m commercial investment facility for the refinance of two regional serviced office assets. The 5-year senior investment loan is being provided by Waypark Capital at a 71% LTV on a variable interest rate. The proceeds of the loan were used to refinance two acquisition bridge facilities which the client had drawn to acquire the properties earlier in 2022.

The loan was credit approved prior to the rapid interest rate increases in September and October. The loan was agreed at 71% LTV against investment value not vacant possession. Given that the lender funds on a variable basis, the recent market volatility would normally have required a reduction in LTV, however in this instance, Waypark Capital were able to structure the loan repayment profile to mitigate the possibility of higher funding costs in the market and maintain the high LTV for the benefit of the client. This was due to the excess cashflow from the lease which created stability against the volatility of increased interest rates.   

Philip Kay said “I’m delighted to have closed this transaction in the current market and would like to thank Waypark Capital for their flexibility and speed in structuring this loan. They were able to look beyond the market turbulence of the last couple of months and are truly a ‘through the cycle’ lender. I look forward to working with them again.”

Nicolas Vocos, CEO of Waypark Capital said "The team worked with Arc & Co. and the client to structure the right funding solution to their requirements. We are pleased to have delivered this loan and provided the certainty of execution needed during these very uncertain times.”

Arc & Co. secures a £1.1m commercial loan from Redwood Bank for the refinancing of a serviced office building near Guildford

Julian King, Director within the structured finance team at Arc & Co. has secured a £1.1m commercial loan for his client, an architect who owns and occupies a serviced office building close to Guildford. There were a number of constraints in completing the facility in order to refinance the outgoing lender, including short 12 month licences on a multi tenanted building together with a business plan effected by the pandemic.

 Julian King added “It was a pleasure working with my client who’s existing finance term with his existing lender had come to an end. Upon expecting the building it was clear that it was well managed and provided a quality bespoke office space to its occupiers in a well serviced location with low attrition rates. Working With Redwood Bank was a straight forward refreshing experience due to the knowledge of the credit underwriting team and the productivity of the business development team lead by Nicola Blake. This ensured that collectively we structured the right solution for the client and their project”.

The £1.1m commercial loan was provided by Redwood Bank, to aid with the refinance of the outgoing lender and to provide CAPEX in renewable energy investment to further enhance the attraction of the building, whilst future proofing its offering to its tenants. The loan was provided for a period of 5 years at a margin of 4.95% p.a at a 60% LTV.

Nicola Blake, Business Development Manager at Redwood Bank said “Working with Julian King from Arc & Co was a great experience, from day one we discussed the client’s needs and worked collaboratively, both visiting the property and clients to gain a better understanding on how the large office block is operated to ensure a smooth approval at Credit stage. Julian’s property knowledge, his professionalism and regular engagement between Redwood, the customer and legal teams, working closely to overcome any hurdles ensured completion within a short timescale.”

Redwood Bank were advised by Freeths LLP with the client being advised by Lynn Murray & Co, both of whom did an excellent job in getting the loan completed before the client incurred additional costs under their outgoing facility.

Arc & Co. and Alpha Property Lending complete £7m bridge to sell secured against one of London’s market leading sustainable developments

Alpha Property Lending has completed a £7m development exit loan for a newly completed development of 8 houses and 2 apartments in East London.

Alpha Property Lending provided a fixed rate loan, giving the Borrower certainty in a volatile interest rate market.

The loan was used to repay development finance and will enable the developer time to sell the properties. One of the properties had exchanged pre-funding and three others were under offer.

Edward Horn-Smith, Managing Director at Arc & Co. says,

“Arc & Co were instructed by an existing client to source competitively priced fixed rate debt. After a short tender process we identified Alpha Property Lending as the best funding partner. From instruction they were quick, professional and transparent.”

Mert Zabci, Lending Director at Alpha Property Lending says,

“Alpha Property Lending are pleased to have worked with Arc & Co as well as a Borrower which has a clear focus on ESG, having built carbon negative residential units with intricate design and sustainability considerations. This is our first completion with this Borrower and future schemes are already under discussion.”  

Arc & Co. Completes £7.5m loan with Shawbrook Bank

Gareth Briggs, Head of Mortgages at Arc & Co. has completed a £7.5m loan on a portfolio of 27 properties with Shawbrook Bank.

The portfolio consisted of a mix of residential and commercial properties in the East Midlands, with some owner occupied. Arc & Co. worked closely with Shawbrook throughout the transactions to work through complications, and concerns with the sustainability of the commercial units income.

Shawbrook Bank enabled a quick completion from offer to completion in 5 business days across a combination of refurbishment bridges, a residential portfolio and commercial portfolio.

Gareth Briggs says “This was a challenging deal to structure due to the mix of the portfolio, but Shawbrook were excellent at understanding the assets in order to complete on this deal.”

ARC & CO. COMPLETES £4M DEVELOPMENT LOAN WITH HAMPSHIRE TRUST BANK

Arc & Co. have completed a £4m development loan with Hampshire Trust Bank for a ground up development of 10 houses in Newmarket. The facility is for a term of 18 months with a LTGV of 65% for a Cambridge based developer.

Tom Berry, Asset Finance Adviser at Arc & Co. says, ”Considering the volatile market and the increasing cost of debt, Hampshire Trust Bank priced the deal fairly, maintaining the leverage in spite of a rapidly changing market. It was a pleasure working with the team at  Hampshire Trust Bank on this case, who were efficient and clear from start to finish.”

Alex Upton, Managing Director, Development Finance at Hampshire Trust Bank says “At the beginning of the year we, at HTB Development Finance, realigned our distribution to better face into and support the broker community and the partnership that is developing with Arc & Co shows exactly why we have done that. Tom has been there at every step of this transaction adding value, insight and solutions to ensure we progressed to a smooth completion.”

Arc & Co. win at the NACFB Commercial Broker Awards 2022

Arc & Co. are delighted to announce winning two awards at the NACFB Commercial Broker Awards 2022.

🏆 Development Broker of the Year, sponsored by @LendInvest

🏆 Commercial Mortgage Broker of the Year, sponsored by Lloyds Bank

Andrew Robinson, CEO of Arc & Co. said: “it’s an absolute privilege to have won these awards. It reflects the effort, professionalism and hard work of the team over the past 12 months and we hope to be back next year with another strong submission”

ARC & CO. COMPLETES A £8.5M BRIDGING LOAN WITH LENDINVEST

Tom Savill, Asset Finance Adviser at Arc & Co. has completed a bridging loan with Lendinvest for £8.5m. The loan has a 12-month term with a 65% loan to value.

The property, located in Eastbourne, was a vacant prep school originally purchased without planning. The client obtained change of use and planning for 52 residential apartments and the facility allowed the client to refinance after obtaining planning permission to release equity. The exit plan for the loan is to sell the site to a developer.

The deal had several challenges as the school was owned by multiple shareholders and required a guarantee from a director that wasn’t a shareholder. This coupled with the original planning use made the deal complicated and Lendinvest’s ability to understand this was vital in completing the deal.

Tom Savill Says, “It was great working with Lendinvest on this deal. They were very competent, understanding the complex nature of the asset as well as the ownership structure. I look forward to working with them again in the future.”

Gary Clark, Business Development Manager at Leninvest says, “This deal had some unique points to it. With the input and support from Tom, we were able to quickly deal with any issues in a timely manner. I would like to thank Tom for his professionalism and support, aiding us to complete this deal in the timescales required.”

Arc & Co. completes loan on 43m yacht

Nikita Nigai from Arc & Co. has completed loan on a yacht with an Asian leasing institution on behalf of a Middle Eastern national.

Equity release of EUR 3.9M was secured against the 43m Superyacht for a 5-year term with a 30% balloon payment without AUM requirements. The case involves a complex legal structure due to several legal parties in four different countries. The loan size and the age of the yacht narrowed the available lending options, specifically with no assets under management.

Nikita Nigai, Head of CIS at Arc & Co. says, “This was a challenging deal to structure due to the complex legal structure, lack of AUM and the reduced lending options available, but I am very pleased to have been able to find a solution for our client.”

Arc & Co. secures £3.5m residential developer exit bridge

Julian King, Director within the structured finance team at Arc & Co. has secured a £3.5m residential developer exit bridge with Century Capital for his client, a Surrey based developer to refinance an existing development facility.

The new facility provided a loan of 70% LTV for 9 months, allowing for an extended period in which to sell the asset, protecting its underlying value. Due to pressures from lack of labour, rising costs and supply chain issues lengthening the build program, the development loan had come to term without a suitable sales period.

The solution was to refinance, supporting the developer to obtain the true value of the specialised asset, a beautifully restored and modernised Surrey mansion sat in 6 acres of mature parkland surroundings.

Julian King added “It was a privilege to be involved in the development of such an asset and to work with my client who had a clear vision from inception 2 years ago. I’m looking forward to seeing who purchases the property and to seeing it sold successfully, providing an unrivalled home, beautifully reinstated to the highest of standards. This is a great example of how well an exit facility can work, allowing for time in which to realise the true value of assets and protect against the erosion of value. Something that I think we will see more developers turning to in the months ahead.”

MFS and Arc & Co. complete £2m buy to let mortgage for landlord with multiple BTL strategies

Market Financial Solutions (MFS) and Arc & Co. have delivered a £2 million buy-to-let mortgage to a client needing help with multiple buy-to-let (BTL) investments.

The borrower presented several challenges. They were refinancing their existing portfolio, which fell under a mix of private companies and personal names – the goal was to bring their portfolio together into one limited company, and then raise capital for new acquisitions.

The portfolio consisted of ten BTL properties including houses in rural areas, towns and cities. Arc & Co. worked with the client to create a strategy to present the case to MFS’s underwriters which illustrated how the funds would be utilised. MFS’s strength in their underwriting was their ability to understand the diversity within the assets and use of funds which included obtaining planning permission, furnishing and legal costs.

MFS saw that there were multiple exit strategies available to the borrower given the breadth of their BTL portfolio. Further, by running multiple affordability calculations, they noted there was plenty of potential for the properties on the horizon.

Given these factors, along with the fact that most of the properties already had tenants, a loan of over £2m was promptly issued at an LTV of circa 70%.

Imogen Williams, Regional Sales Manager at MFS, commented: “At MFS, we pride ourselves on cases like these, which present plenty of interesting and unique challenges. Here, we were simultaneously consolidating an existing portfolio under one private company as well as financing the acquisition of ten new BTL properties.

“We had to act quickly and have completely open lines of communication with the broker and borrowers. By doing so, we were able to establish all the facts involved, overcome the complexities of the case, and deliver a product that met the exact needs of the borrowers. It’s a great showcase for MFS’s qualities.”

Rupert Child, Senior Consultant at Arc & Co. commented: “I am very pleased to have completed this loan with MFS which had so many layers of complexity, numerous moving parts and timing conditions. Jemma is absolutely brilliant - keeping me updated and seeing the process through to conclusion.“

Paresh Raja, CEO of MFS, added: “Many lenders would have struggled with the numerous complexities of this case, but MFS, with its 16 years’ experience as a specialist lender, was able to overcome all the challenges, and quickly. Imogen and the underwriter, Jemma, handled the case superbly from start to finish.”

Arc & Co. Completes £16.2m loan with Brydg Capital

Edward Horn-Smith has completed a £16.2m bridging loan for a newly completed block of apartments in Ealing.   

The original development loan was structured with senior and mezzanine loans, which Arc & Co. were able to restructure and simplify with a 80% LTV bridge. 

The £16.2m bridging loan was provided by Brydg Capital and will allow the developer to finish the build after unforeseen delays as well as providing an extended sales period. The loan was provided at a rate of 7.25% pa. 

Edward Horn-Smith, Managing Director at Arc & Co. says, “It was important to provide the borrower with a new facility that enabled them to finish the build and allow time to sell the properties at a rate that wouldn’t dramatically erode the developer's profits.”

Aysan Pamir Ozel, Head of Business Development at Brydg Capital added, “Brydg always strives to support developers in preserving profit through a constantly evolving economic climate. We continue to work closely with sophisticated debt advisors like Arc & Co. in this pursuit and are continuously impressed by Ed’s ability to present well structured transactions.”

ARC & CO. COMPLETES £68M DEVELOPMENT FACILITY

Edward Horn-Smith and Cameron Hayes at Arc & Co. have completed a £68m development facility with Oaktree-backed lender, Silbury Finance.

The development is being brought forward by London developer Avanton, as part of a joint venture with Housing Growth Partnership. The development of 262 residential units marks the start of Avanton’s masterplan for the Old Kent Road area, aligned with Southwark and the GLA’s aims to deliver 20,000 new homes, workspaces and schools. Avanton are playing a key role in this regeneration, bringing several developments forward over the next few years.

Following a short but thorough tender process; Arc & Co. secured senior debt from Silbury, who were able to structure fixed rate market leading terms.

Edward Horn-Smith, Managing Director at Arc & Co. says, “We are very happy to be partnering with clients like, Avanton, who are pushing the envelope to deliver well-designed, competitively priced residential schemes and are ahead of the curve in unlocking new parts of London. They are a strong developer with a robust track record in London and we look forward to growing the relationship.”

Arc & Co. worked closely with the client on this to secure the site on an initial bridge loan earlier this year to finalise planning.

Cameron Hayes, Asset Finance Advisor at Arc & Co. says, “Working with an institutional partner like Silbury was fundamental to the successful launch of this scheme in partnership with Avanton and Housing Growth Partnership. Given the size of the project and prospective tenor, Arc & Co. were able to agree pricing on a fixed-rate basis to help protect the client against further cost increases and interest rate rises.”

Arc & Co. structures £20.84m, debt & equity funding for acquisition of residential block

Philip Kay, Senior Asset Finance Advisor at Arc & Co. has completed £20.84m across two loans (Both debt & equity) for the acquisition of a residential block in Borehamwood. Post-acquisition, the developer client will apply for planning permission to add additional units to the existing scheme.

The senior investment loan of £12m is being provided by Aldermore at a 70% LTV on a 5-year fixed interest rate. The additional funds for £8.3m are structured as a second charge loan with a profit share element. The specialist development funder in question was comfortable to accommodate the planning risk in the scheme, given the strong location and the developer’s track record.

Philip Kay says “This is a well-located residential asset which our developer client has identified for its upsizing potential in the local market. The resulting scheme will complement the local area and we look forward to working on the development facility once planning for the additional units is granted. I’d like to thank both lenders for their support on this transaction.”

Ian Sutton from Aldermore says, “It is an exciting deal with Aldermore providing the senior debt enabling the acquisition of a quality residential asset, it was an excellent collaborative approach from all parties and great to be involved. We feel the asset has great potential to add value through development and look forward to supporting the development in the future.  The deal showcases Aldermore’s ability to create long-term funding partnerships aligned to borrower strategy and brilliantly demonstrates our bespoke and flexible approach, combining both investment and development finance. Special thanks to Philip Kay of Arc & Co. for the introduction.”

Arc & Co. structures £15.6m development loan with CapitalRise for the development for 5 exclusive houses in Surrey

Cameron Hayes, Asset Finance Advisor at Arc & Co. has arranged a £15.6m development loan with leading specialist prime property lender CapitalRise, for the acquisition and development of five luxury houses on a 27-acre site in Farnham, Surrey, on an exclusive gated parkland. The scheme has a GDV of £31.57m with an additional 1.8m mezzanine, taking the total loan amount to 17.4m.

There were several challenges to overcome in order to secure the required gearing, specifically to do with ongoing market issues relating to build costs. Extra emphasis was placed on due diligence for the scheme including understanding the complexity of the development appraisal, given the prime value of the properties and the developers delivery team to ensure the scheme would be built on time and within budget to mitigate any potential issues. CapitalRise’s experience and breadth of knowledge in understanding this sector made them the ideal lender to partner with.

Commenting Katy Katani, Associate Director at CapitalRise, said: “We are extremely proud and delighted to be working on one of the most impressive developments in Surrey backed by such exceptional developers. We are well known for funding loans for property projects in Prime Central and Outer London but have also been assisting developers to deliver properties in the Home Counties for many years. A region where we continue to expand our remit.

We worked very closely with Arc & Co in order to construct a tailored package for the client and look forward to overseeing this development progress.”

Commenting Cameron Hayes, Asset Finance Advisor at Arc & Co. said: “Katy and the team at Capital Rise were a pleasure to work with. Their experience in super prime assets was crucial to delivering this deal. All parties were very cooperative and worked with speed to deliver this on time and we are delighted to have completed this on behalf of our client.“

Arc & Co. arranges £5m development facility with Blend Network

Cameron Hayes, Asset Finance Advisor in the Structured Finance team has completed a £5m residential development facility with Blend Network.

The loan was a for the conversion of a small holding with outer barns in Surrey. The loan was a refinance of an existing bridge, to release equity from planning uplift and to complete the development of the farmhouse and outer buildings. The loan was agreed at 70% LTGDV and 130% loan to purchase price (based on the original acquisition). The client‘s strategy was to maximise the day one land loan to release equity for upcoming purchases.

Paul Watson, Head of Lending at Blend Network said “We are delighted to have closed a £5m loan which was introduced by Cameron Hayes. The entire deal process was seamless with advisor and borrower alike and we are delighted to complete in a swift manner with a top tier SME client. Hopefully the first of many more to follow!”

Cameron Hayes says, “Delighted to have completed on this with Paul, Danny and the team at Blend Network. This is a very exciting development and the first stage in a much wider development of the site.”

Arc & Co. structures £17.34m bridge loan provided by GRE finance to fund share buyout of family-owned property company

Philip Kay, Senior Asset Finance Advisor at Arc & Co. has advised family-owned property company Kingscastle on a £17.34m loan. The senior bridge loan has been provided by specialist bridge lender GRE Finance, to fund the share buyout of a significant UK real estate portfolio and was secured against 76 UK properties valued at £29.2m.

The portfolio consists of 51 commercial and 25 residential properties and represents excellent diversification due to the spread of asset types, locations and values. 55% of the assets are in London and the South East with 21% in the North East of England and the remainder in Manchester, the Midlands, the South Coast, South West and Yorkshire.

The senior loan of £17.34m is being provided by GRE Finance at a 61% LTV on a 12-month term.

Philip Kay, Senior Asset Finance Advisor at Arc and Co. said:

“GRE really outperformed in getting this loan completed in a short timeframe. The loan from GRE was the largest of three loans which together funded the share buyout and was therefore critical to the entire transaction for the client. GRE adopted a commercial approach when faced with complexities in the transaction. I look forward to introducing more transactions to them in due course.”

Daniel Benton from GRE Finance said:

“Kingscastle is an extremely experienced property developer with significant experience of managing large property portfolios. This portfolio is well structured given its significant diversity of assets, providing good liquidity and protection to withstand exposure to a particular location or asset class. It was a pleasure to work with Arc & Co. and Kingscastle on this transaction.”

GRE Finance was advised by Fladgate LLP.

Arc & Co. secures £3.7M investment loan for a 53 bed scheme in Nottingham

Julian King, Director within the structured finance team at Arc & Co. has secured a £3.7m investment loan for his client, a Hong Kong based investor to refinance a 53 bed student block in the centre of Nottingham. There were several constraints in completing the facility given the offshore structure of the borrower which were navigated to structure a suitable debt facility. 

Julian King added “This is the third transaction I’ve been involved in with my client having previously structured finance for two previous developments in London. Its great working with the team and to look at their wider investment portfolio as the company grows and to be involved in their overall corporate debt strategy”.

The £3.7m investment loan was provided by Secure Trust Bank, to aid with the refinance of the outgoing lender and to provide certainty within the investment portfolio in these uncertain times. The loan was provided for a period of 5 years at a fixed interest of 3.99% p.a at a 65% LTV.

David Burke, Lending Director at Secure Trust Bank said “This is our second deal with the client, who continues to be well represented by Julian King at Arc & Co. The case involved several complexities however all parties worked together extremely hard to get the deal over the line within a very short timescale. We are delighted to be able to continue to support existing clients and we are looking forward to building on the foundations of this existing relationship.”

Secure Trust Bank was advised by Clarke Willmott with the client being advised by Gunner Cooke, both of whom did an excellent job in getting the loan completed within a tight timeframe of 6 weeks, in which to secure the terms under the loan. 

Arc & Co. Company Update: £165m of loans completed

After a successful start to the year, we wanted to take the time to celebrate recently completed deals. Arc & Co. has completed on over £165m of lending, advising on 76 transactions in the first four months.

We are also hugely pleased to have won Best Development Broker at the Moneyfacts awards.

Thank you for your continued support.

Andrew Robinson
Chief Executive Officer
Arc & Co.

Recent Deal Completions

Residential development - Site Acquisition

• Loan Size: £12.2 million

• Lender: Market Financial Solutions

• South East

• Finance Advisor: Edward Horn-Smith

Residential development – Site Acquisition

• Loan Size: £11.9 million

• Lender: Market Financial Solutions

• South London

• Finance Advisor: Cameron Hayes

Mixed Use – Equity Release to enable energy efficient upgrades

• Loan Size: £11.5 million

• 87% LTGDV

• Lender: Interbay Commercial

• Lambeth, London

• Finance Advisor: Matthew Yassin

Residential development – Pre Planning Development Loan

• Loan Size: £10 million

• 85% LTGDV

• Lender: Close Brothers

• South East London

• Finance Advisor: Matthew Yassin

Office Refurbishment – Site acquisition

• Loan Size: £5.2 million

• 70% LTV

• Lender: Topland

• Fitzrovia, London

• Finance Advisor: Tom Savill and Tom Stephenson

Residential development – Site acquisition for 6 apartments and 3 townhouses

• Loan Size: £5.4 million

• £8.5 million GDV

• Lender: Hampshire Trust Bank

• Southwark, London

• Finance Advisor: Julian King

Prime Residential – Two bridging loans with Century Capital

• Loan Size: £2.1 million and £1.5 million

• 66% LTV and 30% LTV

• Lender: Century Capital

• Knightsbridge and Oxford

• Finance Advisor: Nikita Nigai

Arc & Co. win Development Finance Broker of the Year at the Business Moneyfacts Awards 2022

On Thursday night in the presence of more than 900 industry professionals from leading financial institutions and trade bodies at Evolution London, the winners of the 2022 Business Moneyfacts Awards were announced.

For the fourth time in six years, Arc & Co. Structured Finance were presented with the Development Finance Broker of the Year award.  Thanks to diligent research by Moneyfacts and industry experts, companies and brokers who won, or received highly commended or commended trophies, are considered to be truly the best in class.

Andrew Robinson, CEO of Arc & Co. said: “it’s an absolute privilege to have won this award for a fourth time.  It reflects the effort, professionalism and hard work of the team over the past 12 months and we hope to be back next year with another strong submission”

Lee Tillcock, Editor of Business Moneyfacts, said "Following a period of previously unprecedented uncertainty and subsequent change the last year has provided ongoing challenges to the economy and the business sector. Fighting hard to shake off the effects of COVID-19, businesses, brokers and providers have worked tirelessly to boost business opportunities. The finalists and eventual winners at this year’s awards should be rightly proud of their achievements and have offered a range of products and services that have best supported the sector, at a time when its success and growth remain ever vital to the recovery of the wider economy.”

Georgie Crocker Joins Arc & Co. as Broker

Georgie Crocker joins Arc & Co. from FinTech brokerage, Capitalise, where she was predominantly focused on structured finance advisory. Her experience spans real estate across a variety of sectors including logistics/industrials, residential, student, office, hotel and retail.

Georgie Crocker, Broker at Arc & Co. says, ‘I am excited to be joining the Arc & Co. team with the experience and reputation within the development and commercial sector across all Real Estate asset classes’

Andrew Robinson CEO of Arc & Co. ‘I am very excited to be working with Georgie, she has a vast knowledge of the Commercial and Development Market and is very driven to provide clients with best advice. Georgie is joining Arc & Co. at a very good time where the board and management are implementing our next growth strategy and Georgie will help us implement part of that strategy.

To connect with Georgie, drop her an email at georgie@arcandco.com

 Welcome to the team Georgie!