Downing Property Finance receives £75 million facility from HSBC to bolster development finance

By Bridging Loan Directory 2nd November 2023

Responsible investor Downing LLP’s Property Finance Team has received a £75 million sustainability-linked facility from HSBC.

This complements the significant retail and institutional capital which Downing already has and is looking to deploy into the space. The additional funding will allow Downing to build on its strong track record in supporting SME developers nationwide.

The loan includes provisions which support Downing’s overall sustainability strategy and will contribute to its goal of deploying its own sustainability-linked facilities to small and medium-sized UK property developers.

Downing’s development finance offering includes loans which are based on the Loan Market Association’s Sustainability Linked Loan Principles.

Downing’s objective with its SLL framework is to incentivise and reward a borrower’s achievement based on pre-determined sustainability performance objectives.

This is based on a borrower’s sustainability strategy, targets and objectives, which are assessed against an ESG scorecard.

Downing’s ESG scorecard looks at a range of criteria including physical risk, embodied carbon, energy and operational carbon, water, waste, biodiversity and habitat and certifications.

Parik Chandra, Partner and Head of Specialist Lending at Downing LLP, said:

“This new facility is a testament to the team and track record we have built in the development finance sector.

We continue to grow and diversify our funding sources and are delighted that this facility with HSBC includes sustainability targets which we believe are of increasing importance to a range of investors.”

Downing LLP typically lends between £1 million and £30 million to experienced developers with the ability to go higher by exception. It lends up to 90% loan-to-cost and 70% loan-to-gross-development value.

Within wholesale finance, Downing focuses on lending to bridging lenders and can also consider lending to other secured lenders.