Business: Information about Business Development Finance Property

How can a Broker help in raising property development finance in the UK?

1. Benefits of using CD Property Finance as your broker.

In these uncertain times for property developers there really is only one certainty - it will not be straghtforward raising the finance for your development! We all know the reasons for this - the banks overstretched themselves and are now clamping down hard on the property sector.

However, do not despair. As a broker with over 25 years in property development finance Chris Dowdeswell of CD Property Finance has retained very close relationships with the banks and investors that really count. This means that Chris can still source attractive finance packages on competitive terms. If you instruct CD Property Finance to work on your behalf you will benefit from:

1 - Our market knowledge of which banks are lending and on what types of projects, and where.
2 - Access to other funding sources, such as cash rich investors.
3 - Preferential rates - we negotiate hard for our clients!
4 - Our knowledge gained over 25 years of what information lenders need to be presented with and how it should be presented. CD Property Finance thus gives you a head start over other developers and helps you jump the queue for the banks' attention (and their money!).
5- Personal service from Chris Dowdeswell A.C.I.B

2. Hampshire case study

In June a high street bank business manager known to Chris Dowdeswell for 10 years called us to say that they had been asked to lend an experienced developer about ?100, 000 to finsh off the construction of two small houses in Hampshire. The bank - one of the ones we all now have shares in! - told us that their credit department had refused to lend even though the ?100, 000 loan represented only 30% of the value of the completed houses. Could CD Property Finance help?

We immediately knew that we could and arranged to meet the client within a couple of days. We gathered all the information we knew our lender would need and presented it to them straight away. The lender met the developer within a few days and offered all the money they needed to complete the two houses. The developer was able to draw down his funds within four weeks of meeting the lender.

Our developer client was extremely grateful for our service and advised us that if CD Property Finance had not been able help he would have had to close the site down and lose much of his own money.

3. West Sussex case study

A valued client obtained an option to buy a site in West Sussex. He was able to achieve a planning consent for 3 detached houses and approached Chris Dowdeswell for a loan of ?1, 000, 000 to develop the site. Despite the difficult prevailing conditions we were able to arrange the loan with a bank whose senior director we had known for over 20 years.

This strong relationship led to the bank lending 82% of the total cost of the development - an unusually high percentage in the current economic climate - with the bank taking a small share of the profits of the scheme.

4. What are the different finance types?

Development finance may appear quite complex but the elements can be simply be broken down depending on the loan structure required by the client. The most commonly used are:

Bank finance (see below) + Developer cash = 100% cost

Bank finance + Mezzanine finance (see below) + Developer cash = 100% of cost

Equity finance (see below) = 100% of cost

5. DEFINITIONS

Bank finance - usually around 65% of the cost of the project, secured by a first charge over the development site.

Mezzanine finance - usually about 20% of the cost of the project secured by a second charge over the site

Equity finance - 100% of project cost, often in the form of a joint venture between the developer and the investor. Profits are usually split 50/50.

For further information, please contact chris at chris@cdpropertyfinance.com or visit our website www.cdpropertyfinance.com

Chris Dowdeswell is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and a long standing member of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers. Chris Dowdeswell worked in commercial and property banking in the City of London and overseas for over 20 years before setting up CDPF and has a wealth of experience and contacts which he uses for the benefit of his clients.

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