Glenhawk secures £25m mezzanine funding

The bridging lender said the funding line, which was arranged and closed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, will be used to underwrite both regulated and unregulated bridging loans.

It is the first time Balbec Capital has worked with a UK bridging lender and it will support the senior funding line secured with J.P. Morgan in March.

Glenhawk is aiming to grow its UK loan book to £200m by the end of 2021 and last month launched its first regulated bridging product.

It added that demand had been “exceptional” since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic generating £454m of new loan enquiries from August to October.

Guy Harrington, CEO of Glenhawk, said: “This is an important milestone for Glenhawk, which will allow us to accelerate our lending activity in response to unprecedented borrower demand.

“It also underlines the attractive returns available in the real estate alternative lending sector, underpinned by the retrenchment of the high street banks and lower for longer interest rate environment.

“With the recent vaccine announcement offering real encouragement for the UK’s recovery from the impact of the virus, we look forward to 2021 and hitting our ambitious lending targets with confidence.”

Rob Ryan, a partner of Balbec Capital, added the firm was excited to be partnering with Glenhawk.

“Alongside J.P. Morgan, we look forward to supporting Glenhawk as it looks to build on the momentum of recent months,” he said.