- Competitive finance support for small and medium sized (SME) UK house builders
An innovative new £200 million funding platform for the UK’s SME house builders has been launched today by Santander Corporate & Commercial. Run in conjunction with private investment firm, Topland Group, the Residential Development Financing Platform will provide access to finance for residential developers with the aim of encouraging new housing developments in established communities.
The platform is designed for house builders with a track record of delivery and will provide loans between £2.5million and £20 million, up to 75% Loan to Cost with a maximum Loan to Gross Development Value of 65%. Priority will be given to financing the development of family homes, townhouses, suburban homes and modern family dwellings, for sale to the local domestic market within established communities.
Santander will lead all client interactions and manage the platform. To access the finance, SME house builders will be required to have a track record of completing schemes of a similar size and complexity. To allow access to finance at an earlier stage of the development, there is no minimum pre-sales requirement.
Andrew Whelan, Managing Director Real Estate Finance, Santander Corporate & Commercial, said: “The Residential Development Financing Platform offers a competitive whole loan solution to the sector as a dedicated provision led by a mainstream lender. Our aim is to support proven SME house builders throughout the UK and help promote greater housing supply – something that the UK desperately needs.”
Tom Betts, Director, Structured Finance, Topland Group said: “Topland is delighted to partner with Santander Corporate & Commercial in this new venture. This will see two experienced UK Real Estate lenders come together to provide a tailored lending solution to the UK SME house building market. We believe this is a compelling proposition and look forward to expanding our existing development lending portfolio into mainstream markets, to deliver the vital additional housing the country needs.”
As highlighted in the Housing White Paper1, the UK continues to suffer from an under supply of housing, with one key challenge being the lack of competitive funding available to SME developers. According to the paper, since the 1970s there have been on average 160,000 new homes built each year in England: the consensus now is that country needs up to 300,000 per year to keep up with population growth.
For more information on the platform, please visit our website www.santandercb.co.uk/residentialdevelopment or email residential.development@santander.co.uk.
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Notes to Editors
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Lara Lipsey T: 020 7756 4518 M: 07713 560 209 E: lara.lipsey@santander.co.uk
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Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 30 June 2018, the bank has c24,200 employees. It serves around 15 million active customers, via a nationwide branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking; and 64 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.
About Us
Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a leading retail and commercial bank, based in Spain, with a meaningful market share in 10 core countries in Europe and the Americas. Banco Santander is among the world’s top banks by market capitalisation. Founded in 1857, Banco Santander has 140 million customers, 13,482 branches and over 200,000 employees at the close of June 2018. In H118, Banco Santander made attributable profit of EUR 3,752 million.
Topland Group
Topland Group is one of the largest multi-billion pound, privately owned international investment groups. Topland’s principal activity is Commercial Real Estate investment and lending, with a portfolio of over 165 properties and an existing lending book in excess of £1bn. Topland also has a substantial hotel portfolio consisting of 37 hotels, 28 of which are owned and operated directly and has a significant investment into Natural Resources & Renewable Energy.