A KIS Goodbye to Masthaven

By David Craik 8th April 2022

KIS Finance has secured its last ever bridging loan with lender Masthaven Bank.

Broker KIS said it had completed four Masthaven bridging loans last month with the final deal being sealed on 31 March.

It was a regulated 12 month bridging loan for a little over £3million to purchase a substantial 6-bedroom property with land in Devon for a family relocating from London. It had an interest rate of 0.43% and a Loan to Value of 42%. The property, added KIS, has “outbuildings and future potential for holiday lets”.

The main challenge around the deal, KIS said, centred on the announcement from Masthaven in February that it was withdrawing from the UK Banking Market. In addition, Masthaven said that it would not be taking any new applications for bridging loans.

“We had to be sure that they would be able to fund the deal and would not let us down. They obviously had complications due to them withdrawing from the UK market,” KIS said.

According to KIS the deadline for binding offers was the end of February and completions had to be done by the end of March.

“Although Masthaven have never been one of our preferred lenders, it is a huge shame to lose them,” KIS said.

“They were one of the main regulated lenders who did offer competitive facilities, and unlike their competitors they were not afraid of the higher value regulated loans where some development or restoration was planned.”

However, on a more positive note, KIS said that it has recently seen some exciting new bridging lenders enter the short-term market, “plus the odd old name making significant changes and taking a fresh approach”.

Bridging Loan Directory contacted Masthaven for comment. It only reiterated its statement from February that it is withdrawing from the UK banking sector over the next two years.

In that statement Masthaven said that as part of its “strategic withdrawal” it will reduce and ultimately sell its long-term and short-term loan books.

It said that the key actions it was taken included “allowing the short-term lending (bridging loans) book to run-off naturally as loans are repaid.

Masthaven will consider a sale of the remaining book once a buyer is secured for the mortgage book”.