InterBay Commercial partners with Empire Corporate Finance to deliver £6.5m of commercial finance

By Bridging Loan Directory 17th July 2019

InterBay Commercial, part of specialist lending group OneSavings Bank, partnered with Empire Corporate Finance to provide just over £6.5m of finance for two complex and diverse commercial cases.

Case 1 – Complex Portfolio £3.5m

Jo Sutton, Managing Director, Empire Corporate Finance, approached InterBay to assist with the refinance of a large mixed portfolio consisting of buy to let and commercial properties to redeem an existing facility and capital raise £500,000 for further portfolio purchases. An added challenge was that the client had previously been a victim of identity fraud and had fraudulent entries listed on their credit report.

Jo knew she needed a lender who would take an informed and pragmatic underwriting approach based on the supporting information as well as having the expertise to handle the complexities of the case. There was also a strict deadline in place as the client was due to get married and needed the case finished before her honeymoon abroad. Following positive valuations and the in-depth detail presented by Empire as part of the application, InterBay was able to fund the loan before the client walked down the aisle.

Case 2 – Large Student Development Re-finance £3m

The second case presented to InterBay by Matt Usher, a senior broker at Empire on behalf of a client seeking funds to refinance a previously derelict property which had been converted into an 80 bed student let and made up of 16 x5 bed flats. The client bought the property in 2016, through a Trust, allowing them access to the property to develop it prior to funds changing hands. A complication for the client relating to the case was that a planning application for non-student letting had been rejected meaning the property was limited to use as student accommodation.

Despite being a complex case involving a specialist property, the strength of the existing relationship with the broker and the robust business case presented by Empire, meant the application was accepted and InterBay were able to successfully provide the funding.

Darrell Walker, pictured, Head of Sales, InterBay Commercial commented:

”InterBay Commercial and Empire Corporate Finance have a very strong relationship which made a fundamental difference to the approach that was taken with these two cases. Trust and commitment had already been established therefore we were in an informed position to help get these cases over the line. Our broker relationships are really important to us and we are proud to be in a position to provide the support and expertise they need to deliver positive outcomes for their clients.”

Jo Sutton, Managing Director, Empire Corporate Finance said:

“Empire Corporate Finance has established a fantastic working relationship with InterBay Commercial which we value immensely. We are pleased to partner with a lender who shares the same values as us in terms of how we do business and our high standards of client care. The trust and confidence we have built enables us to achieve excellent outcomes for our clients even with complex cases and challenging deadlines as per these two cases.”