United Trust Bank advances £10.9m investment facility in lockdown

Property investment business and landlord, Rosewall Properties Limited had completed a development of 45 new apartments in London at the outset of the coronavirus outbreak.

The firm was at risk of an open-ended delay to the letting process and income generation.

Rosewall Properties approached UTB’s structured finance division to refinance an existing development loan on to a longer-term investment facility and release equity from the company’s latest project back into new commercial investment opportunities.

The lender completed a flexible hybrid solution amid challenges from the coronavirus to give the customer additional breathing space to find tenants and an interest rate that reduces when the apartments are let and income is generated.

UTB’s structured finance division has completed in the region of £40m of loans to support new and existing customers with similar requirements since the lockdown began.

Lahrie Mohamed, director of Rosewall Properties Limited, said: “The timing of the pandemic lockdown couldn’t have come at a worse time for us.

“We are an agile and innovative company, so the situation didn’t slow us down too much.

“The hardest thing was trying to find a lender with the same attributes.

“The uncertain climate and challenging operational conditions saw lenders drop like flies and the marketplace for refinancing shrank overnight.

“Fortunately, Gerard and the team at UTB take a different approach.”

“In these uncertain times it’s refreshing to find a lender willing to go the extra mile and deliver on its promises.”

Gerard Morgan Jackson, head of UTB’s structured finance division (pictured), added: “With the current situation creating a host of problems for lenders and borrowers alike, it would be easy to put things on hold or use the current circumstances as a reason to delay completions until the future is clearer.

“Rather than follow the herd, we chose to back our client and to complete a substantial investment facility for them, working through issues created by the pandemic.

“There are few lenders that would take on a newly completed development on a five-year investment basis in the current climate.

“In this instance, we quickly got to know the business and we took great comfort in Rosewall Properties’ excellent track record and abilities.”