InterBay supports semi-commercial opportunities with £5.6m case in Brentwood

According to the latest findings from OSB Group’s Landlord Leaders research, seven in ten (69%) landlords have already or are planning to increase the size of their property portfolios, which increases to 77% of professional landlords, categorised as someone whose main income is derived from property. There are also signs that the buy to let market is becoming increasingly professionalised, which is reflected in new cases coming to InterBay with more interest in semi-commercial cases both in terms of volume and clients who looking to diversify their portfolios beyond standard buy to let opportunities.

To help support this area of the market, InterBay have developed a new Commercial Investment Team of awarding winning finance specialists with vast experience and expertise in the commercial and semi-commercial arena. The team, known as Specialist Finance Account Managers (SFAMs) are at the heart of broker relationships and with their special skill base, are key to finding suitable solutions for brokers and their clients. Part of this service includes helping clients who are looking to diversify into semi-commercial or commercial as there are distinct differences both in terms of application and process which need to be considered.

Marc Callaghan, Head of Specialist Finance at InterBay said, “Our dedicated Commercial Investment Team are subject matter experts which really showcases their skills in seeking solutions tailored to each client’s set of circumstances. For example, the changing face of the high street and increasing popularity of local shopping parades is attracting semi-commercial investment opportunities.”

A semi-commercial case that completed recently was through Aquilae Capital Advisory, a broker partner who had used InterBay before and now had a semi-commercial remortgage case in Brentwood, Essex, with a property value of £8.28m. The deal was 19 units, made up of 7 commercial units on the ground floor and 12 residential flats above.

The challenge came from the current occupancy as 4 of the commercial units were vacant and the case sat outside of InterBay’s semi-commercial criteria. The partnership between the broker Matthew Yassin and InterBay SFAM, Mo Parmar, really helped drive the case which completed in 2.5 months. The deal was £5.55m at 67% LTV over a 10-year interest only term.

As part of the application fell outside of criteria, Mo presented the case to the internal Transactional Credit Committee (TCC), successfully securing an early confirmation as well as peace of mind for the client.

Mo’s role was paramount by ensuring early engagement with InterBay’s in-house real estate team, underwriters, and legal teams and help bring together all the different elements needed to help get the case over the line.

Matthew Yassin, Managing Director, Aquilae Capital Advisory said, “Working with InterBay is always a pleasure given their deep knowledge and experience of commercial real estate. On this recent transaction InterBay’s flexible approach was even more evident. Mo and the team went beyond expectation and demonstrated why InterBay are market leaders when considering commercial finance transactions. There was a full understanding of the transaction from the outset of what was required to get the deal over the line. It was refreshing that flexibility was applied as and when needed along with sensible conversations when challenges were identified throughout the process.”