Maslow Capital restarts development and conversion lending

In May the firm launched its liquidity fund which seeks to help development finance providers and borrowers to acquire existing loan portfolios and provide costs to help with the completion of facilities, along with refinancing.

Maslow said it had used the lockdown “as a necessary period to assess the market and ensure its origination efforts are focused on the right opportunities”.

It will consider developments in the residential, private rented sector, build to rent, and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) sectors.

“Notwithstanding the difficulties of the post Covid-19 landscape, Maslow is committed to the future of delivering housing across the UK and has assigned substantial capital to both primary and secondary lending activities going forward,” it added.

Since being formed 11 years ago the lender said it has financed more than 220 projects delivering in excess of £3bn of gross development value.

Loans start at £5m with its average deal being £15m.

Developers adapting

Head of deal origination Matt Pigram said the lender was well placed to support developers adapting to the current environment.

“We fund small, large, straightforward, and complex loans,” he said.

“Unlike the banks we are able to avoid some of the regulatory and credit rating pressures allowing us to be very flexible when it comes to loan size, scheme and borrower concentration exposures.

“We are witnessing our experienced developers adapting exceptionally well to the pandemic with new high-quality schemes that deliver core housing at accessible price points.”

CEO and co-founder Ellis Sher (pictured) added: “We remain focused on core asset classes, staying true to our longstanding experience of funding residential and PBSA developments, while diligently sticking to the key lending fundamentals that have helped steer our credit decisions over the past decade.

“As the country begins to reopen, we look forward to playing our role in delivering much needed funding to the UK’s small and medium enterprise housebuilders.”