Specialist development lender Regentsmead has seen a dramatic upturn in demand for its development finance products inside the M25 and towards inner London suburbs…
The lender’s projects now include building two flats on top of a roof in Peckham and a heavy refurb project in Chelsea.
“We are now seeing a very quick upturn in demand for our products in London so keep an eye out for more and more ‘working with Regentsmead’ banners popping up around the capital,” commented James Bloom of Regentsmead.
“This site in Streatham is a very interesting product – a 1-bed house next to the station and whilst it’s not the biggest property the agents are extremely bullish about the demand in the area.
“It’s a real sign of the times.”
James continued: “Earlier we were on a roof top in Peckham speaking with a criminal law barrister who, in between providing us with some very colourful stories, outlined his plans to build two penthouse apartments on top of an existing block of flats with views of the City and Canary Wharf.
“This particular client said he felt comfortable knowing he was dealing with a development finance specialist and was ‘amazed’ with the speed we were able to move at for him. We agreed funding for his new project on the spot.”
James ended his day visiting a project in Chelsea consisting of a substantial refurb of a 3,000 square foot house with over seven tonnes of steel going underneath the garden ending up with a property worth over £8m.
“This particular client could have sourced finance anywhere but again they said they wanted the reassurance of working with a development specialist and they highly value the immediate service we have provided,” James commented.
“We are already discussing the next project even though we have only just gotten started on this one.
“Having started our day seeing a client I have dealt with for over 20 years in Surrey and ending up in Chelsea via Cobham, Streatham, Clapham, and Peckham, we have seen the full spectrum of different types of property, with a real variance in developer who all value the highly personal and extremely flexible service we offer.”
James highlighted that all the projects and clients he saw reflected the deviation in the London housing market.
“We have also recently agreed projects in Hackney, Highgate, Finchley and Muswell Hill so a large chunk of our London funding has been agreed in the last six to eight months equalling a 300% rise in funding we now have out in the Capital,” James added.
“Historically, the main strongholds for our development finance products have been in the regions and in cities outside of London such as Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham and Leicester.
“The market for finance available in London is becoming increasingly saturated, with some cheaper sources of funding available.
“The key for us is that developers can look beyond a cheaper rate and really see the value in having a finance partner with experience and offers a service that they can’t get anywhere else.”
“I’m not sure how many lenders would spend the majority of their time visiting their clients on site, grabbing a bite to eat and providing solutions and ideas whilst we discuss their next project,” James concluded.
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