With the UK set to leave the European Union, there have been fears about foreign investment in the UK decreasing. 

However, Ashley Ilsen, head of lending at Regentsmead, believed it was still an attractive and “safe” place to lend. 

“There are quite a few barriers to entry for overseas lenders to enter the UK market, but it is, of course, not impossible and there are already a few active players in this space.

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“Interestingly, at Regentsmead, we are seeing an increase in schemes where our funding is propped up by foreign money and carried out by some exceptional developers. 

“It’s good to see this level of positivity in the UK market as I find the mainstream media is far too focused on the negatives currently.”

Alexander Moss, operations manager at Zorin Finance, noticed that the general trend over the last decade had been for the share of overseas lenders to increase and he saw no reason why this wouldn’t continue. 

“In the senior space, non-UK banks accounted for £389m of all development lending in 2012, in 2015 this figure had risen to around £1.55bn. 

“Overseas investors have largely been surprised by the nation’s resilience since the EU referendum, which has in turn served to bolster confidence in the longer-term potential of UK real estate.”

Michael Dean, principal at Avamore Capital, felt that interest in private debt investment across the world was growing rapidly. 

“Property lending represents a proportion of that and accordingly we see an increase in international investors investing in UK real estate debt. 

“However, although foreign investment in UK real estate debt may grow proportionally in the coming years, it will most likely remain on the indirect side as the UK market is saturated with market-facing, property lending platforms right now. 

“It is not inconceivable, however, that a foreign operator takes over an existing UK lender and re-brands them over time.”

Alexander added that in 2015, the UK was yet again the most attractive location in Europe for international investment. 

“Despite recent political events and a cooling of the London market, the UK’s stable political and legal system – in addition to resilient population growth across all demographics – will continue to entice investors and lenders from overseas. 

“However, we expect many of these lenders to increasingly target regional areas and the nation’s secondary and tertiary cities, which offer more potential for growth, with lower barriers to entry. 

“In contrast to London – which is highly dependent on foreign investment – regional areas are more largely driven my domestic demand, and thus may be more attractive to new overseas lenders entering the UK market, who are looking to mitigate risk against wider geo-political issues.”