• Home
• About Us
• Services
• Testimonials
• Contact

We specialise in providing specific types of finance as follows:

Residential & Commercial Investment Portfolios

This is an area where the mainstream high street banks don’t have the same appetite to fund and at Melrose Commercial Finance we work with a number of niche property lenders all over the UK to structure the best deal that meets the client’s requirements. The maximum loan to value in this sector is up to 70%, however, we are more comfortable at 65%.

Development Funding

This is another challenging area however there are a number of ways to fund a new development or a refurbishment of an existing property. We will leverage as much senior debt as possible working with a number of banks and then look at bridging the gaps in a variety of ways. We would say however that the client has to have at least 10%-15% contribution to the project or already own the site or property.

Mezzanine Funding

Obtaining a constant supply of finance for the development of new build/refurbished projects can almost be as difficult as finding the projects themselves and then almost inevitably no sooner is one project underway the next business opportunity presents itself in the shape of that ideal plot of land or redevelopment scheme.

Mezzanine Funding can play a very important role in the fast growth of companies in the building industry and has applications for a wide range of schemes including: new housing, commercial property, Industrial estates, retail development and a whole range of conversion projects.

For most builders and developers Mezzanine Funding is viewed as an essential part of their business and when structured properly will protect cash flow and at the same time aid profits.

Mezzanine Funding is essentially a loan that sits alongside (or behind) a conventional bank loan. The interest rate is generally more expensive but the advantage is gained in the extra cash that is released and by putting the conventional loan and Mezzanine Funding together the client can obtain maximum financing.

Cash flow is protected as the debt associated with Mezzanine Funding is generally settled in a one-off payment from the proceeds at the end of the development or by a re-finance package rather than being paid month-by-month over the period of the development. Therefore there is no immediate strain on cash flow.

Great experience is required when structuring a Mezzanine arrangement properly. We will negotiate with the parties involved and endeavour to reach agreement that the Mezzanine loan sits behind the conventional loan, thus minimising overall costs and potentially adding to the bottom line profit.

Bridging Finance

A “bridging loan” is a facility to support the borrower to the next transaction. It is normally a shorter term loan that is used for interim finance until the following occurs:

• The property is bought at auction
• The property is resold
• The property is refinanced with a traditional lender
• The property is renovated, improved or completed
• A business has resumed or improved or changed in a specific way allowing for permanent financial restructuring to occur

Equity can be released from an existing property or a facility can be provided to purchase a property.

There is also “roll up” interest which means there is no need to service the debt during the “real” period – you simply pay it off at the end of the contractual agreement.

Joint Venture Funding

We work with a number of joint venture partners across the UK who are willing to invest in the right project with the right partner. Joint ventures also allow the clients to spread their risk and perhaps look at a number of opportunities rather than one project. The financials of the project have to meet certain criteria and we would look primarily for projects where the profits on costs are around 25% mark.

SME/Corporate Trading Business

There are a number of opportunities available to SME business and we will match the right structure to fit the needs of the business. There are also a number of Government backed initiatives that can be secured for example in relation to leasehold businesses which in Scotland can be more difficult to finance. We can also bring in our asset based finance partners depending on the nature of the business to provide much needed liquidity/cash flow at the most competitive rates. We also use a number of smaller banks as well as the mainstream banks to offer a more personalised service to clients.

Refinance/Structured Finance

This is an area that over the last few years in particular Melrose Commercial has successfully negotiated complex refinancing for clients away from some of the major UK banks. In certain situations this involved debt forgiveness due to the sophisticated hedging/instruments used by these banks which accumulated in more debt on already in some cases over leveraged portfolios.

Where a re-finance is not possible we will provide a consultancy based service in terms of negotiating the best options with the existing lender usually in the form of either controlled asset sales or property participation schemes.

We work with a team of legal experts who specialise in this area and we are experienced negotiators when it comes to dealing with the banks.

Private Banks/Bespoke Lending

For high net worth individuals and investors we provide access to a number of private independent lenders across the UK. Some specialise in offshore structures and understand the mechanics included in these transactions. Personal lending can also be structured in a more flexible and bespoke manner however there will be a certain client criteria which will be applied to the individuals.

Residential Finance

If it’s individual mortgages on your own private dwelling house or investment buy to let mortgages our residential lending partner offers independent whole of market quotes and provides a personal service throughout the duration of the mortgage transaction.

Testimonials