Impact Lending backs £5.5m sustainable housing development in Suffolk

By Bridging Loan Directory 28th April 2021

Impact Lending, the new financial arm of Impact Capital Group, has provided finance to Archerfield Homes from its sustainable loans range to support the acquisition and development of the Friars View housing project in Suffolk.

Impact Capital Group’s involvement in the Friars View scheme ranges from financing the acquisition of the site through to the manufacturing and delivery of units from its 110,000sq ft modular construction factory in Peterborough.

Impact Lending initially provided finance on a Second Charge basis to the development, which has planning consent, consisting of 17 homes (3, 4 & 5 beds) in an exclusive private road, each with a family friendly garden.

Impact Lending stepped in to clear the First Charge lender, and to provide the senior debt development facility of £3.42m to Archerfield Homes, giving them the ability to proceed with the construction.

The housebuilder then successfully tendered the project to a number of modular construction providers, with Impact Modular winning the contract to manufacture the Friars Views scheme.

Impact Lending’s “Sustainable Construction” product range is the first of its kind in the development finance industry by providing sophisticated financial solutions for forward-thinking developers, like Archerfield Homes.

Through Impact Modular’s construction process, carbon emissions will be approximately 30% lower than if the houses were built through traditional construction means.

Friars Views is an Archerfield Homes development consisting of 17 distinguished family homes. The contemporary design of the houses is based on the traditional architecture of the nearby 15th century village.

The development, with a GDV of £5.5m, will be finished within 9 months, with Archerfield Homes planning on refinancing the Impact Lending loan as the exit.

Tristan Lee, Director at Archerfield Homes, said:

“We had a troubling start to the development during Lockdown 1.0 when our loan was redacted. Impact Lending provided Mezzanine on the scheme.

Using the development expertise of Impact Capital Group through Impact Lending, we were able to form a viable delivery model with financial backing, allowing the finance to hold the term of a facility for traditional build methods.

We have had a streamlined process, with direct access to the principals. Where there were the inevitable wrinkles, we ironed them out, to no detriment to us or the deliverability of the development as a whole.”

David Travers, CEO of Impact Lending, said:

“It has been an inspiring journey working with Archerfield Homes to help find a financial solution which not only provides the financial backing needed to complete this scheme but also to have Impact Modular build it. I’m pleased to see the first of our sustainable loan products come to life.”

The Friars View development will reach completion later this summer with the first residents expected to move in shortly thereafter.

As well as open market homes, the site will also offer affordable Rent to Buy homes in collaboration with national award-winning provider, Rentplus.