Development Finance - RQ Capital

Development Finance

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Finance: £275,000

Our Client

A first-time borrower and developer from the local area.

The Project

Planning consent was granted for two detached bungalows on unencumbered land, for which we approved a development loan of £275k. The project had a gross development value of £1.15 million.

As the borrower was a first-time developer, he decided to build one of the properties initially, with a view to selling it before proceeding to build the second one. He also asked us to manage and pay the builder directly, which we were happy to do. The arrangement worked well for all parties concerned. The suggested sale price for each of the two bungalows is £575k, and they are currently being marketed.

Finance: £370,000

Our Client

A father and son team from Norfolk. They needed development funds for a site in Thetford which had planning permission for three properties.

The Project

Initially, our loan of £370k was used to fully construct one of the properties, and to build another two to shell stage. Over the 12-month period of the loan, the developers increased their borrowing to allow them to fully construct all three properties, and we agreed to an extension.

The land was valued at £330k, with a gross development value of £1.375 million. One property sold for £520k, and we allowed the developer to retain a percentage of the sale to assist with completing and marketing the other two properties. This flexible approach enabled the developer to increase their margin while exiting our arrangement.

Finance: £750,000

Our Client

A Derbyshire based developer required development finance of £750k to build 5 high quality dwellings.

The Project

RQ worked efficiently and quickly to put the loan in place, this required RQ to take a pragmatic view on various elements of the facility. Towards the end of the facility there was a hold up with a title issue, the borrower and lender had direct communication and good dialogue. This enabled instructions to be given to the legal teams jointly, ensuring completion of the sales was not delayed and the borrower repaid on time. Due to the open and direct communication, a potential lengthy delay was averted which allowed the borrower to pay the lender back faster.

A note from the client

“RQ Capital offer excellent attention to detail with clear and pragmatic communication throughout. Always one step ahead, the team are efficient and prompt with a crucial understanding of the importance of cash flow. A highly recommendable service”.

Finance: £785,000

Our Client

An experienced local developer specialising in small, high specification speculative residential developments in West Suffolk.

The Project

Their project required funding to build the first three new houses on a site with planning for five, which they had purchased with their own funds. The proposal was for the first phase to be completed and sold, releasing cash flow to complete the remainder.

Their local reputation had enabled them to get reservations on some units in advance of construction. They wished to put in infrastructure for all units but only complete the first phase until sales were confirmed.

In this instance, a traditional lending approach to sign off ‘by stage completed’ could have resulted in a ‘stop start’ pattern of progress given that the work was spread across several units. The Developer required a flexible approach to the stage advances as this was their main project and they had commitments to their employed contract team and sub-contractors.

RQ Capital were able to agree a phased construction funding with an element of additional infrastructure as the site was owned outright and thus no loan for purchase was required. This enabled the developer to have continuity of workforce and plant on site moving from unit to unit, with the flexibility of pausing at the completion of the first phase to facilitate house sales if needed. This gave them benefit of economy of scale whilst minimising the amount borrowed until sales were completed.

Finance: £1,000,000

Our Client

A residential developer that we have worked with on a number of different development projects.

The Project

Planning consent was granted for eight residential units, for which RQ Capital approved funding of £1 million over a 15 month period. We released payments on request, with a clear cost/spend breakdown. Draw down payments were always paid promptly to the client, and we kept our repayment schedule flexible. This flexibility was helpful to the client when issues arose with the development along the way, and allowed the project to maintain momentum.

A note from the client

“We have undertaken five development projects with 33 homes built in total with RQ Capital. They are always efficient and prompt in their dealings from start to finish, with excellent attention to detail. They understand how developments are built and the importance of cashflow when issues may arise. Their service is excellent and they are always on hand for advice or help”.

Finance: £2,750,000

Our Client

An experienced North Norfolk developer building out a scheme of retirement homes on the Norfolk coast.

The Project

Their project required funding of £2.75 million over 18 months to build the first phase of a retirement village. Phase 1 entailed construction of the first two buildings, each with 6 units and including underfloor communal garages, as well as the infrastructure for the entire site, 68 units in total.

As the project progressed, our Client was very conscious that the specification of phase 1 was going to set the sales value of the flats for the rest of the scheme. They decided to delay the project to increase the size and specification of the units resulting in a GDV growth of over £700,000 for the 12 units, for an increased cost of over £400,000.

RQ Capital agreed to fund the additional costs by taking security over another site owned by the client. This flexible approach to funding the change in specification by RQ, resulted in the Client’s net profit increase by a further £300,000.

Finance: £6,000,000

Our Client

Our north Norfolk based client is an agricultural business looking to take advantage of their seasonal cashflows by investing in an ambitious property development project.

The Project

Their project involved the acquisition and construction of 44 housing units over three phases in a 24-month period. This would involve total investment financing from RQ Capital of £6 million over the three phases. For this investment there was an amplified risk to the lender as the planning permission stipulated that infrastructure for a substation for phase 2 & 3 had to be completed before more than seven properties built in phase one were sold. There were also additional time limitations on the land purchase for phases 2 & 3.

This meant that RQ Capital needed to be certain that their terms could be met at every stage. We met with the Client and took time to really listen to the details of the project and what they were trying to achieve. RQ agreed a phased approach that aligned to the property developers project constraints with an initial loan of £2 million towards phase 1 and £0.6 million towards phase 2 to cover the infrastructure costs including building a substation. Further facilities were agreed once the pre-sales on phase 1 were achieved. The Client was able to start the construction and achieve planning conditions by their due dates as well as giving them the security of knowing that the options on acquiring the phase 2 and 3 land could not expire due to lack of funds.