Development finance lending criteria
Our standard development lending criteria is shown below, but we can consider some applications beyond this
The applicant
Experience
We lend exclusively to applicants with property development experience
We will also assess the experience of the professional team involved in the project
Residence
The main applicant(s) must reside in the UK
Any Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) must be domiciled in the UK
Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)
Acceptable SPVs include:
- Limited companies (Ltd)
- Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs)
- Public limited companies
Each Director, Partner (in the case of an LLP applicant) or member is required to complete and sign an application form
Adverse credit
We will not consider the following forms of adverse credit:
- Bankruptcy
- Repossession or voluntary repossessions
- LPA receivership
- Administration
The property
Location
The property must be located in one of the following regions:
- England
- Wales
- Scotland
Security
A first legal charge over the property will always be required along with a debenture and personal guarantee
Planning consent
Full, detailed planning consent must be in place for the proposed development
Tenants
We will not consider applications where the tenant is or will be any of the following:
- A family member of the applicant
- The previous owner of the property
Property size
All apartments must always be the following sizes at a minimum:
- 30m2 or over (outside London)
- 25m2 or over (inside London)
Warranties
NHBC or equivalent warranties must be in place
Collateral warranties with step in rights will usually be required
The loan
Interest
Interest will be rolled up until redemption of the facility and is calculated within the LTV/LTGDV limits
Deposit
We will always require evidence for the deposit
Legal representation
Separate legal representation is required on all development projects
Exit route
There must be a viable exit route for all development loans
Please note that this web page represents a sample of our lending criteria and is not exhaustive.