Shawbrook backs commercial-to-residential project with £2.3m loan

The lender was approached by strategic partner Vincent Burch Mortgage Services on behalf of a client wanting to convert an office block in a highly-industrialised area of London into 14 residential flats. 

The price tag was £3m and the requested loan-to-value 75 per cent. 

The client owned an extensive property portfolio, but had not yet completed an investment of this size and therefore required a specialist lender.

Shawbrook considered that the case represented a good investment opportunity, being close to a London Underground station and easily commutable into the City of London. Nearby, another block had recently been converted from commercial to residential, indicating that planning permission should not be a challenge.

The client swiftly provided all the required information to meet Shawbrook criteria, and the lender responded with a pre-valuation offer in 24 hours.

Gary Boorman, head of large loans at Vincent Burch Mortgage Services, said: “Shawbrook was an absolute pleasure to work with and displayed a can-do attitude throughout. I am certainly hoping to repeat this experience on other deals.”

Emma Cox, sales director at Shawbrook Bank (pictured), said: “We pride ourselves on having the specialist expertise to handle the most complex cases — and this one in particular is an excellent example.”

“Our team has significant experience lending on commercial-to-residential developments, and we therefore had the knowledge necessary to take on this case, working with an experienced strategic partner who knew exactly what to do to support their client,” Cox added.