Key Details
- ₤5,100,000 buy to let loan re-finance facility to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with multiple entities held within.
- UBO – UAE Resident/UK Passport holder with no income outside of property portfolio
- Total of 33 residential properties held within the SPV, with a combined value of ₤8,500,000
- 60% LTV on Interest only basis
- Consolidation of four existing loans, with four different lenders, under a single facility to the TopCo company with a single lender
- Half-fixed rate, half variable rate
- No Assets Under Management (AUM) requirement
- No personal guarantee available from UBO
Client Profile
The client was a former UAE resident and UK passport holder, who had recently returned to the UK and was now a UK tax resident. The client was employed whilst working in the UAE, but since her return to the UK, had ceased employment and was concentrating full time on her property portfolio.
Over 20 years, the client had built a portfolio of 33 UK residential properties that in turn were owned by a series of SPVs including UK limited companies and UK partnerships. The client had four different loans outstanding against the portfolio with four different retail, high street lenders. Due to the four facilities maturing off fixed rates, the client was now paying a high variable rate on the total borrowing.
The client therefore mandated GSB Private Finance to help consolidate a single loan across the whole portfolio under a new TopCo company that had been set up.
Challenges
There were numerous factors that made this deal challenging.
The first was the sheer number of properties involved in the refinance. The portfolio consisted of 33 properties spread across different location around the UK. The properties were mostly tenanted, but with a portfolio of this size, there were natural rental voids that impacted on the portfolio’s income. With the absence of wider employment income and the lack of personal guarantee on offer from the client, we were under huge pressure to fit the deal within a lenders affordability policy.
The second was the complex ownership structure. The 33 properties were split and owned by four different SPVs that were a mix of UK limited companies and UK partnerships. Each entity had an outstanding loan facility with a different lender and so there was a lot of moving parts that we needed to bring together for the consolidation into a single loan facility.
Finally, the client wanted to hedge her interest rate risk, but also wanted the flexibility to sell some of the properties without being penalised by early repayment charges. It was therefore imperative that we found a lender who could put a truly bespoke solution in place for a what was a complex refinance.
Solution
After speaking with a number of potential lenders, we decided to proceed with a London based Private Bank. We had prior experience with this Bank and knew they were experts in lending to portfolio landlords with complex loan structures, and that they had a credit policy that was flexible and pragmatic.
Along with advice from the Bank and the client’s solicitor, we worked with the client to establish a new TopCo (UK limited company) that would act as the primary borrower and hold the four SPVs, which held all the properties.
We worked closely with the Bank to structure a single loan facility granted to the TopCo, with guarantees in place between the TopCo and the SPVs. The loan was cross collateralised by the multiple properties and an additional cash security deposit was taken to mitigate the lack of a personal guarantee.
An interest only facility was agreed upon, without the lender requiring the client to use capital to amortise the loan during the term. We were also able to negotiate half the loan being on a 5 year fixed rate basis, and half the loan being on a variable rate. The fixed rate helped hedge against future interest rate rises, whilst also helped with the affordability calculations. The variable element of the loan provided the client with the flexibility to sell some of the assets that were secured by the variable portion of the loan, without the worry of incurring early repayment charges.
Overall, we were able to arrange and advise on this large debt consolidation and refinance, saving the client a considerable amount of money in interest costs and providing a facility that was both efficient and flexible. The perfect solution that was in line with the client’s complex needs and requirements.
Are you ready to discuss your property investment funding requirements?
To find out more about how GSB Private Finance can help secure your property investment funding requirements, don’t hesitate to contact GSB Capital.