Lancaster housing development boosted by £6.25m facility from Assetz Capital

Assetz Capital, a leading SME property development finance provider, has completed a £6.25m development facility to support Marie Thomas Homes, a well-established family housebuilder, with a new 22-unit residential scheme in Lancaster.

The development will deliver eight different types of accommodation, ranging from two and five-bedroom houses to two one-bedroom apartments. Thirty per cent of the site is also dedicated to providing affordable housing for the local community.

The facility was structured at 71% LTGDV and includes the recycling of £200,000 of sales proceeds. Assetz Capital’s funding will also enable Marie Thomas Homes to defer part of the equity contribution towards the construction phase, supporting cash flow in the early stages of the build.

Mark Whelan, Managing Director at Marie Thomas Homes, said: “In what has been an incredibly challenging market, we approached Assetz Capital to provide a stretch senior facility after our proposed mezzanine lender was not showing signs of delivering.

“As is always the case in a tougher market, credit teams are more thorough in their assessment, but Assetz worked with us pragmatically to reach a workable solution. We’ve spent three years securing planning in this desirable area and we’re looking forward to delivering an attractive development that reflects our family business’ focus on building quality homes that people genuinely aspire to live in.”

Mark Roberts, Relationship Director at Assetz Capital, said: “This deal evidences our capability to structure development facilities that would sit outside many other lenders’ criteria. We’ve provided a £6.25m facility at 71% LTGDV for a 22-unit scheme to a well-established family development firm, which sits right in our sweet spot for supporting SME housebuilders.

“Alongside the stretch senior leverage, we’re also recycling £200,000 of sales proceeds and enabling the developer to defer a portion of the equity contribution into the construction element of the project. That early-stage flexibility can make a material difference to cash flow on site. It’s a well-designed scheme delivering quality family homes to the local community, and I look forward to working closely with Mark and the team over the coming months to deliver a positive outcome for all parties.”

The funding was facilitated by Dave Symondson at Devbrok.