B&C can exclusively reveal that specialist packager, Loans Warehouse, has just completed their biggest ever deal with leading bridging lender, West One Loans. We spoke to Steve Mettler, who dealt with the case at Loans Warehouse to give us the insight…

Receiving the case only three weeks ago on 20th January, Loans Warehouse has helped to save a property development from near failure after the original funding for the project fell through.

The loan, for a whopping £2.3 million to purchase a detached five-bed property set in 5,000square feet grounds and in a prime location on Poole Harbour in Dorset, was required by the client for twelve months to develop the land into two town houses with a large penthouse above.

The client had already secured funding for the property, which over-looks idyllic Sandbanks and Brownsea Island, and had put down a deposit of £200,000. When the finance failed to materialise, the client was at risk of losing his entire deposit unless funds were in place quickly to ensure the purchase could go ahead in time for the agreed date.

The property and grounds were valued at £2.2 million and the client needed to raise £1.8 million to finance the development. Loans Warehouse contacted West One Loans who were able to provide a loan of £2.3 million to cover the purchase price and fees incurred.

However, this deal was not straight forward as the client used three properties as security for the loan which meant three properties had to be valued to move forward with the deal. The client required a second charge on his primary residence, a first charge on a flat he also owned in the Sandbanks area, and a first charge on the five-bed property he was buying in this particular transaction, which was placed on completion of the loan.

The initial quotation for the valuations on all three properties used as security was at a cost of £6,000 plus VAT from the valuation firm, Aztec Property Valuers Ltd. West One worked very hard on the client’s behalf and negotiated a great reduction of over £3,000 with the valuation firm and only 48 hours later, the valuation reports for all three properties were back.

With three properties, also came higher solicitor fees which meant that the loan had to be increased from £2.27 million to £2.3 million in order to account for these extra costs and some additional buying costs the client hadn’t allowed for. West One were able flexible in their terms so extending the initial requirement did not pose a problem.

On the 3rd of February the lender produced the final terms that were agreed by the client. West One, again working hard to suit the deal to the client’s needs and expectations agreed to reduce their arrangement fee. At all stages throughout this application the client was looking to make savings and questioning all fees asking for them to be reduced. Loans Warehouse reduced their broker fees to make sure the customer received the best possible offer – Steve explain that it was exactly this, along with West One’s help getting the survey fees reduced really is the difference that made this deal complete.

And, just three weeks from being introduced to the case, the deal was completed.

Commenting on the deal, Matt Tristram, Director of Loans Warehouse said: “We have been impressed with the service from West One Loans from start to finish. We even received the commission within 24 hours of the loan completing just to emphasis the swift service we've received.”

Equally impressed by how the case was handled by Loans Warehouse, Duncan Kreeger, Chairman of West One Loans, added: “We’re delighted to have funded our first loan with Loans Warehouse and I’d like to congratulate them for their largest loan to date. This new association is a direct result of the work of our Business Development Managers and expanded case management team helping introducers to understand and deliver in complicated lending scenarios. We’re looking forward to their next challenge!”