Alternate senior debt funding

There are a number of providers of this type of finance – some that have been in the market for years and some that are new participants.

These lenders will offer a higher percentage of costs, generally 75%, sometimes up to 80% as long as this does not exceed 60-65% of the GDV of the scheme.  This additional gearing does attract higher costs and standard pricing would be around 1.5-2% lender entry fee, 6-7%pa interest rate and an exit fee of 1-1.5%.

For the application the lender will focus mainly on the borrower’s track record (though first time developers can be considered), cash / equity input and the scheme itself. There would be a check of the client’s financial profile, but it is focused much more on the borrower’s assets and liabilities rather than a detailed income review.