Case File:

• Tudor mansion in Chester nestling in 3.5 acres of land
• Borrower bought for £715k but bank couldn’t act fast enough
• Roma Finance provided a £300k bridge over 6 months
• Mansion to be converted to 18 self-contained highly specified apartments
• 3 cottages in the grounds to be renovated and sold at £200k each
• Roma Finance also provided £50k bridge in stage releases for cottage renovation works

Nestling in 3.5 acres of landscaped gardens and with three cottages ripe for renovation, the Tudor mansion was bought by a borrower for £715,000. Once owned by well known Cheshire family and more recently used as a care home, the borrower aimed to convert the property into 18 flats finished to a very high internal specification. Three cottages also came with the development and the borrower realised that for a small cost, they could be renovated and converted to highly desirable residential houses.

The borrower needed to move quickly to secure the property, but after extensive negotiations with his bank, they just couldn’t deliver the finance in time. That’s where Roma Finance stepped in. They visited the property and met with the borrower to fully understand his plans for the mansion and cottages and quickly realised the excellent potential of the project.

It was agreed to structure the bridging finance over two separate loans for each of the buildings. For the Tudor mansion a bridging loan of £300,000 was provided over 6 months. For the cottages a loan of £50,000 was agreed, to be paid in stage releases as the renovation works are completed.

When checking the local property market, the borrower and Roma Finance realised the cottages once refurbished could sell for £200,000 each, providing funds required to exit the bridging loans. This would mean that the mansion would then be unencumbered, and as there is plenty of land, the future plan is also to cordon off 1.5 acres and sell or build on it for further gains.

Scott Marshall, Lending Director of Roma Finance said: “This case shows how we can quickly understand all the aspects of the case and see the big picture and future potential in a development. With multiple properties and spare land to develop further it was very exciting to work with an experienced borrower to bring the property back to life and help him reach his goals, particularly when the mainstream bank couldn’t deliver in the timescales needed.

“All aspects of this case stack up to a terrific development which can deliver returns for the borrower quickly to exit the loans and provides the opportunity for even more profit by building on the land currently not used.

“We are already discussing working with the borrower again for this and other projects.”