Bomb

Bomb squad assists Crystal and Affirmative with brownfield development finance project



Crystal Specialist Finance (CSF) has sourced funding for a development project which took over two years to complete.


The project was deemed complex due to it requiring the removal of a number of dilapidated buildings prior to the construction of new residential houses, and the developer KAD Developments finding a live, 300mm-long second world war bomb being used as a doorstop.

The bomb squad removed the bomb for a controlled explosion.

The specialist finance distributor first became involved with KAD Developments in June 2017 when the latter was let down by another lender.

An agreement was made with the landowner to defer part of the payment until completion, due to limited funds.

A few months later, Affirmative agreed to offer the balance of funds on day one (£240,000) and 100% of the build costs in arrears (£60,000).

However, the seller reneged on the deal during the legal process and the project was put on hold.

In November 2018, an equity partner agreed to make up the shortfall and Affirmative honoured the original offer with funds released in April 2019.

The development is now on track, with the new houses valued above the initial £1.5m GDV given by the valuer.

Michael Fisher, head of development finance at CSF, said: “This application encountered a minefield of issues, but by working together and continuing open dialogue, we were able to assist the client through every setback to ensure he could complete the deal.”

Karl Daniels at KAD Developments added: “Wow, what can I say. I spoke to Michael at Crystal nearly every day for two years while he and his team completed a deal on the site. 

“I will definitely be using them again.”

Affirmative’s head of sales, Ian Harrison, added: “It’s not the type of loan you see every day, but we love it when quirky cases like this come across our desks.”



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