Hope completes largest loan since inception

Hope Capital has completed a £4.5m loan making it the lender’s largest loan since its inception in 2011.

The deal highlights the firm’s continued growth which increased its lending by 50% during the first half of 2016. The bridging loan has also surpassed Hope Capital’s previous record loan of £3.9m loan on a student residential scheme in Stoke on Trent in July this year.

The client, a successful musician, was coming to the end of the term on a loan facility and needed to refinance quickly in order to avoid any large penalties. The borrower was also looking for additional funds to provide working capital for a new business he had recently set up. The proposed security on the loan was a trading golf course with significant leisure and tourism development potential, plus further significant assets owned by the borrower.

Jonathan Sealey, chief executive officer of Hope Capital, said: “After the broker had tried several sources, all of whom declined the proposal due to the security, we took on the case due to our experience and knowledge in more quirky and unusual deals.”

In terms of the loan itself, the client was seeking a total facility of circa £4,850,000 which would have repaid the existing facility, further loans secured on the property and allowed the client to buy out an existing private investor.

Based on the valuation received, Hope Capital offered the client a loan of £4.5m from which he was able to achieve his objectives. Although the legal due diligence was never going to be straightforward due to several leases and unregistered land, the report was generated and the legal documentation was prepared. The valuer ensured his report was delivered quickly and the valuation report was concluded within seven days.

Seaey added: “This case highlights the benefits of our service proposition and how we continue to look at the individual circumstances of the client and their portfolio. This approach allowed us to achieve a positive outcome for the client who was able to repay his private investors, provide capital for his new business venture and repay his existing loan on time, without incurring any punitive fees. With the additional security the borrower offered, we were more than comfortable with this size of loan due to the reduced overall loan-to-value.”