Portman Finance

You normally don’t like to admit to how old you are, but Portman Finance takes pride in the fact that we have been in this industry since 2005.

Portman Finance provides unregulated, short term, secured loans. We don’t really favour products as we find most loans require a more bespoke flexible approach.

We have found that we have become lender of choice to our brokers when it comes to the less vanilla deals, some could say the quirky ones that don’t fit in a box. Deals that require an experienced and common sense approach. But we also love the less challenging deals from straight forward ground up development to property refurbishment deals.

Who are Portman Finance and what do they do?

Portman Finance was established by Stewart Barnes and Martin Hay in 2005, previous to that Stewart had almost 25 years in the banking sector and Martin had over 30 years in the property industry. Working alongside Stewart is his wife Rachel Barnes (and, yes, many people do ask how they work together!)

The simple answer to what we do: lend money!

The slightly more detailed answer is that we provide finance in a number of areas, but predominantly property focused. We provide development finance, from ground up to light and heavy refurbishments. We are very happy to consider both first time developers and also part completed developments.

But we have also provided loans for capital injections into a business, assisted with the completion a religious building, auction purchases, the construction of self storage unit. Basically any situation that requires a chat with someone who can make a decision and doesn’t rely on a computer program.

All loans are unregulated, secured and short term with a clear and viable exit route. We offer loans from £50,000 up to around £1.5M

What do Portman Finance’s interest rates look like on finance?

Fantastic! But of course we are going to say that.

We are competitively priced and like our loans the pricing is bespoke and reflects the nuances of the deal.

What do I need to get a loan with Portman Finance?

All our loans undergo full underwriting, which also includes a credit check.

We meet every borrower and visit every site to ensure we get the best understanding of the deal and the needs of the borrower.

How do I apply and how easy is the process?

The process couldn’t be simpler, either call us on 020 8209 3822 or email us at info@portmanfinance.co.uk

From that initial enquiry, we will quickly decide whether it is something we can help with. Brief heads of terms will then be issued, which if acceptable, will convert to more detailed Heads of Terms, which will lead to a meeting with the borrower at the subject property or site.

How long does the application process take and when do I get the money?

The honest answer to this is that it really depends on a number of factors, but most importantly (and we cannot over emphasise this) the borrower uses a good solicitor. We have completed on loans within 3 days of meeting, but that is the exception rather than the norm.

Does Portman Finance do any specialist bridging options for things like property, business, etc?

As previously mentioned we do specalise on the more challenging deal. Something that is very much not vanilla and requires experience and common sense to understand how the deal can be structured to everyone’s satisfaction.

We have lent to a number of inexperienced first time developers.

We have also been involved with part completed developments.

What are the pros and/or cons of a loan with Portman Finance?

From the first point of contact you will always be dealing with a real person (two real people to be precise, Stewart and Rachel!!) never a computer or automated system. We work with the broker and the borrower throughout the whole process and are able adapt should the situation arise. We genuinely look to develop relationships with all our borrowers.

With over 16 years in the alternative finance industry (and several decades prior to that in mainstream banking) there is not much that we haven’t come across, which has equipped us to be able to deal with most situations and find a solution.

And the cons..…Stewart’s gags. He only knows about 3. Good job we are a short term lender.