Recognise Bank ended another successful year with the provision of three bridging loans, to three separate Cumbrian families introduced by a key brokerage – Lakeland Commercial Finance, based in Kendal.
All three loans were originated by Ian Fields, Business Development Manager in the bank’s Manchester office who has fostered a successful relationship with experienced broker Steve Dunne, founder of Lakeland Commercial Finance and the rest of the team working out of the Cumbria office.
With over 25 years of brokerage experience, Steve and the team bring a wealth of expertise, and a deep understanding of borrower’s requirements when it comes to securing funding. Paired with Recognise Bank’s tailored approach to lending, individual bridging solutions were delivered to each of the three Borrowers.
Two of the loans were to Cumbrian farming families, one of which has successfully diversified their farming business income with the provision of holiday accommodation in Penrith, an area still benefiting from the popularity of staycations, post the COVID outbreak in 2020. This loan was used to facilitate the exit of a third-party investor allowing this husband-and-wife team to drive through their growth strategy.
The second loan, for almost £1m, with an LTV of 57% was provided to an Ulverston based couple who already own and operate an established and successful farm who had identified a larger farm a few miles away that would facilitate their plans for growth. The family operate a sustainable farm growing crops to feed all their livestock, without the use of artificial feed and chemical-based fertilizers. They rear small herds of specialist breed cattle and sheep as well as running a successful livery business. The 12-month bridging loan enabled them to secure their ideal purchase and continue with the expansion of their various businesses whilst the sale of their original farm completes. Recognise are very comfortable with this sector and structuring this “stepping stone solution” for clients.
To underwrite the third of these loans, Recognise needed to fully understand the historic letting activity of a luxury 24-bed country house which has been owned by the applicant for over thirty years. The £1.2m loan also enabled an element of equity release to help progress an unrelated residential development owned by the Borrower.
Ian Fields, Business Development Manager at Recognise Bank said, “We are thrilled to announce the successful provision of three impactful bridging loans before the close of the year. The bank has a strong appetite for bridging transactions of all kinds and these three deals demonstrate the level of commercial activity in this picturesque part of the world. Our bespoke approach has allowed us to work well with Steve and the team at Lakeland Commercial, and we look forward to doing more business with them in 2024”.
Steve Dunne, Director at Lakeland Commercial said “It was great to work with Recognise Bank across these three deals and will have no hesitation in partnering with the Bank in the future to accommodate our client requirements.”
