Contracts were exchanged for the purchase of a 100,000 sq ft building – including a fully let retail lower floor and three upper floors of serviced offices – late last year, with a completion of mid-March.
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In the interim, the client needed to obtain PDR planning consent to convert the upper floors into residential to make the intended facility work.
Three lenders were involved in the project: Octane for the commercial acquisition, Titlestone for the potential residential development and an equity fund.
However, when the largest tenant on the income-producing lower floor unexpectedly exercised its option to vacate, it left a significant loss of income, leading to a reassessment by Octane Capital.
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Fortunately, Octane Capital decided that this would not affect the loan and provided £3.6m for a 12-month term.
The upper floors are set to be converted into 80 luxury apartments and will be facilitated by a £17.5m loan from Titlestone for an 18-month term.
The loans from both Titlestone and Octane were at 65% LTV.
Matt Smith, director of risk at Octane Capital, commented: “If you have a borrower that ticks the right boxes, a lender that’s prepared to be flexible and an introducer [which is] on top of [its] game, anything is possible.
“We are as hungry as ever to lend and this kind of deal is right in our sweet spot."
Jordan McBriar at Adapt said: “Aside from the obvious thanks to the lenders [which] transacted this alongside us, a huge thank you should also be said to the professional teams involved, who tirelessly worked to make this happen, too.”
The client added: “This project is a flagship statement for our business and we want to thank Adapt and the lenders who have helped us to achieve this.”
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