Octopus Real Estate completes £127m lending in October

The uplift was led by an almost doubling of commercial lending, including on deals in London, the South East, the Midlands and the North.

The loans comprised a mixture of refinancing, acquisitions and equity release and applied to projects from land-with-planning to a hotel and an office to serviced apartments.

Roughly half of lending was in London and half outside the capital.

Octopus Real Estate has opened an office in Manchester this month. Senior staff including a credit manager have moved to the new office from London and new personnel with experience in the North and other regions have been recruited.

Benjamin Davis, chief executive at Octopus Real Estate, said: “This is a significant milestone for our team, post-merger, reflecting the service we offer and the strength of our reputation and relationships.

“We will continue to evolve and to support borrowers in realising their property projects.”

Dan Murray, head of sales added: “As a flexible and nimble non-bank lender we can react to the market environment and listen to the needs of borrowers. We’ve spent a decade building a business and want to thank our brokers and lenders for their continuing support.”