Often in commercial deals, finance is needed lightning-fast to ensure a successful transaction and a happy customer. At times, however, restrictive mainstream lending can stop this from happening. B&C spoke to Charlotte Rayson, Relationship Manager at Greenfield Capital, to hear about two cases which show how timely bridging deals can help in commercial deals…

Case One

In this case, we lent to a client within tight timescales, eased by the added benefit that the customer had no early repayment charges when they sold the property.

An experienced property investor approached us for a bridging loan for a commercial property in London to be purchased by sealed bid. She had a 28-day completion time allotted to this. She had spoken to a well-known London-based competitor lender who could only support her if she put in a 60 per cent cash deposit – something she was unprepared to do.

We arranged a six month bridging loan for £2,250,000 to purchase the property so that she could buy it quickly, renovate it and then sell it on and we only needed a 35 per cent deposit to do this.

Our customer was very pleased that a lender based in Birmingham knew the property market so well in London and was able to provide the funds needed. Indeed, we will also fund throughout England and Wales as well as in London.

Case Two

We can also help companies to purchase new equipment or offer cash injection to assist in the expansion of their business.

We recently completed a facility where the client required a bridging loan to raise funds to inject into his business. The client owns a family printing business, based in a small unit in the West Midlands.

Due to expansion and growth, the client needed to purchase a new printing machine for £50,000. He had recently gained a large contract from a blue chip company but did not have the right equipment to meet the demand. He also did not have the funds and time needed to get a commercial mortgage.

His unit had a value of £250,000 and was unencumbered. He did not want to monetise his assets so we offered him a commercial bridge for £60,000, which he spent on purchasing the machine as well as a new website and marketing material. We managed to complete the deal in eight days. He was ecstatic as he had obtained his new printer and has since won further contacts, so now he can meet the print demands!