Affirmative Finance was recently asked to assist with the funding of a seven house development site, where the road that served the development was not adopted and its owner was unknown.

Affirmative believes that some lenders faced at this problem at that stage would have taken out the big red “refused” stamp, however Affirmative looked to tackle the problem.

An Underwriter from Affirmative met with the company Directors and the intermediary on site to work out a solution. That solution involved reworking development costs, understanding the nuances of the Council in connection with adopting a road of an unknown owner and structuring a lending transaction that worked for both the company and Affirmative. That solution provided for a two stage process.

The first stage was for Affirmative to provide the funding for the road to be made up to adoptable standards and thereafter for the road to be adopted. The second stage was for Affirmative to provide the development finance for the build of the seven houses. The funding requirement was in the region of £1 million.

Commenting on the deal, Gary Lederberg, Director of Affirmative said: “Sometimes it is easier to say ‘no’ than ‘yes’. We try to embed a positive attitude in our underwriters so that they will look to make transactions work for the customer, the intermediary and ourselves. Getting over the line with this transaction resonated in a true sense of achievement around the office on the day of completion.”

Martin Simons, Associate Director of Wealthcare, added: “Other than the technicalities of structuring an acceptable package for the customer, the key component was being able to deal with a lender which could structure a commercial transaction and say ‘yes’.”