Four directors of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) limited company formed in November 2014 especially for the project. The SPV has £1.7m to invest.
All four directors are experienced developers and investors in their own right. They have also worked together previously developing similar properties in West London.
Purchase of a commercial office block in Richmond-upon-Thames with planning permission to convert into ten residential apartments. Originally the offices had been owned by a bank and operated as a business centre but this had proved unprofitable so they sold the premises without planning permission to developers. The property is close to the station. Architecturally it is well suited to conversion into apartments and has plenty of parking
space.
The funds were needed quickly because a 6-week timescale was a stipulation of sale by the vendors who needed finance for another project. (The vendors had purchased the building without planning permission, which they subsequently got. This increased the property’s value enough for them to make a £500,000 profit without having to develop it themselves).
The developers agreed a price of £3.7m for the building. They could fund £1.7m themselves but required a further £3.3m for the purchase and subsequent development works. We approached a lender that not only works to tight timescales but is also happy to lend based on a percentage of the project’s Gross Development Value.
To find a lender that was willing to provide funds within a 6 week timescale to facilitate the purchase and subsequent development.