Review of 2017 and the year ahead

2017 is coming to a close and despite a troublesome financial market, Arc & Co. have had another successful year. As a team we have organised and structured over £450m of loans.

Although the headlines suggest a volatile market, there has been an increase in the amount of liquidity available and the majority of funders are still keen to deploy money into both development and investment transactions.

We have arranged 70 loans across the capital stack throughout the year, ranging from a 17.5% LTV investment facility on a central London property, up to 95% LTC/75% LTGDV on large residential developments.

Please find below a list of products we put in place throughout 2017:

·         Development & conversion loans throughout the capital stack

·         Bridge loans to purchase

·         Bridge loans to purchase, rolled into development facilities

·         Development exit bridges

·         Investment loans for purchase or refinance (in many cases releasing capital for re-investment)

·         Bridge to purchase and stabilise, rolled into long-term investment money

In 2018 we hope to do much of the same using our expertise in structuring real estate loans for all areas of the market.  If you have any transactions in the pipeline for 2018 that you would like to discuss, please make contact.

Nick Holding-Parsons

Nick is a professional debt advisor specialising in structured asset finance for UK and international clients. In the time Arc & Co. has been running, it has built strong relationships with a wide range of different funding lines to suit our clients' specific property transactions, whether it be development or investment projects. Unlike your typical advisor/broker, we do a great deal of underwriting in-house which means we can quickly find the best solution for our clients.

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3205 2129
Mobile: +44 (0) 79 7350 632
Email: nick@arcandco.com

Market Update

Up until the last recession, developers would normally structure their debt with traditional Senior banks like Natwest, and if they needed higher leverage they would add mezzanine finance to sit behind the senior loan.

Since 2008, the traditional senior lenders have either retrenched from the market or become a lot more conservative on allowing the developer to structure mezzanine behind them. This has resulted in the emergence of new lenders who have the ability to provide whole loans, or ‘stretched facilities’.

These funders, who typically have mandates from institutional funds or family offices, have now gained a sizable market share and are becoming the market norm. These lenders will lend up to 90% of total cost at a rate of around 10-12%. If you compare that to the traditional method and calculate the blended rate of the senior loan, usually at 6% and the mezzanine loan at 16%, the blended rate is in the single digits.

We can clearly see that the market is now swinging back in favour of the traditional way of structuring and as the market becomes more competitive, rate compression is likely to
happen. On top of this, the market is seeing more willingness from senior lenders to accept mezzanine to sit behind them.

The most important part of the deal is not always the price; it is about completing the deal in a timely and cost-sensitive manner. Traditional structuring does throw in other problems that you should consider. Inter-credit deeds must be negotiated and agreed between the senior and mezzanine lenders, and on top of this your professional fees, such as for lawyers and surveyors, will be a lot higher due to two lenders being involved.

A development project very rarely runs on time. If a time extension is needed, the developer will have to negotiate with two lending parties rather than having one port of call.

To summarise, it is a positive sign that the market is seeing increased growth in development lenders and it is great to see that the traditional method of structuring debt deals is returning and expanding. Stretched lending is a good way to simplify a deal and save on fees, but most of the time will not be as cheap.

For developers, any increase in financing options available is always a positive sign, but as the market expands for both stretched and traditional financing there will be more emphasis on the broker and their quality of advice. If advised correctly, the developer can maximise their financial return by using the traditional method.

Bank of England's Base Rate Increase

Following the Bank of England's Base Rate increase many lenders have followed suit, increasing the cost of borrowing across the market.

This news didn’t come as a surprise as mortgage rates have been at an all-time low for a sustained period. It’s likely that as both swap rates and the cost of commercial borrowing increases we will see lenders edge their rates up again over the coming months.

It’s expected that in addition to the increase in rates a further tightening of criteria and maximum term due to the uncertainties ahead with Brexit.

If your mortgage is due for renewal in the next four to six months now is the time to lock in the competitive rates and more lenient criteria. Most mortgage offers are valid for between three to six months, so even if you are fixed in until the Spring you can arrange your new mortgage now.

Contact a member of the Charnock Hughes team for advice on the best rates available for your circumstances.