The £3.3m loan was completed on a 24-month loan term and was agreed in May and drawn in August.

The scheme — by developer Trinity Square Developments — will replace the Lantern Lodge Hotel in Hope Cove with 14 new apartments.

Nine of the new homes will be holiday lets aimed at the staycation market.

Shawbrook agreed to support Trinity after the developer’s initial funder pulled out due to Covid-19 concerns.

Simon Knowles, director of development finance at Shawbrook Bank (pictured above), said that the bank was delighted to be supporting the project and was eager to see the final result on completion.

“At Shawbrook, we took a view that while the location was off patch for this client, the proposed units would be well received in the market and so offered outstanding potential in the current UK holiday market,” he commented.

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Stewart Budge, relationship manager at Shawbrook’s development finance team, added: “In line with our specialist foundations and our commitment to assessing each project on its own merits using good sense and judgement, we had faith in both the developer and the potential for this project and so were only too glad to help.”

He believes the project will revitalise the area and offer outstanding holiday lets, as well as give the surrounding economy a boost through the use of skilled, local labour and expertise.

Robert Graham, co-owner of Trinity Square Developments, stated: “This is an exciting project and one that we believe will spark outstanding demand in this particular area from holidaymakers looking for a stunning UK staycation in Devon.

“With buyer patterns shifting and high demand for holiday homes and staycations in the UK, we believe these units will be popular with potential owner occupiers and holiday-let investors.”