The bank provided 92 loans over the period at a value of £380m, up from 44 (totalling £180m) in the previous year.

Growth in Shawbrook’s development finance portfolio was particularly strong in Bristol and the South West, which represented 25% of the total lend.

Its loan volume to developers with debt requirements below £2.5m almost tripled, funding 49 projects at a value of £56m.

Since the launch of its development finance offering in 2016, the bank has supported a total of 238 new projects, delivering 3,500 residential houses and flats, 601 commercial units and more than 1,000 student rooms.

“Reaching £1bn in development loans represents a significant milestone for our business,” said Terry Woodley, managing director for development finance at Shawbrook Bank (pictured above).

“The fact we have achieved it in less than five years is a testament to the strength of our product, the expertise of our team and our commitment to supporting developers across the sector through challenging periods.”

According to the bank, this is thanks to the increased appetite for new developments during the pandemic, resulting in a significant rise in funding requirements, particularly among smaller developers.

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“We’ve seen strong demand for funding from large developers delivering significant eco-developments and regeneration projects, to the smaller developers that need a specialist lender to understand how they operate and can work with them as they deliver schemes concurrently,” Terry added.

The business reached the target with a loan for the new Photographic Works scheme in Birmingham, led by development company Hatchbury.

The project, which is located on the 35,000 sq ft site of the old photographic processing works in the city’s Jewellery Quarter, will include 48 one- and two-bed apartments and duplexes.

Patrick Kennedy, director at Hatchbury, commented: “Our approach is to retain and enhance the areas that we develop in, and this new development will celebrate the site’s photographic heritage while providing quality, affordable housing in what is a historic part of the city. 

“Shawbrook understands how SME developers operate and the markets they move in, and the team worked closely with us through the planning stages to enable us to deliver the right project.”

The £1bn milestone follows the bank’s acquisition of RateSetter’s P2P-funded development finance business in December 2020 as it focuses on supporting more smaller developers. 

Shawbrook stated that this rise in scale and capacity, together with the launch of Cloud Lending — a Q2 company  and a new loan management platform — and record numbers of repeat customers, positions the bank well to step up its growth strategy.

“Our customers are increasingly pushing boundaries to tackle the UK’s development challenges,” said Terry.

“As we target the next £1bn, our focus will be championing the innovation that will ultimately lead to more sustainable and affordable developments in the years to come.”