Assetz Capital has provided a £6.25 million development facility to Marie Thomas Homes for a 22-unit residential scheme in Lancaster. The project includes a mix of two to five-bedroom houses and two one-bedroom apartments, with 30% designated as affordable housing.
The facility is structured at 71% loan-to-gross-development-value (LTGDV) and includes provisions for recycling £200,000 of sales proceeds back into the project. The financing arrangement also allows the developer to defer a portion of its equity contribution into the construction phase.
Developer response to market conditions
Mark Whelan, managing director at Marie Thomas Homes, said the company approached Assetz Capital for senior facility funding after a proposed mezzanine lender failed to deliver. “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,” Whelan stated.
Whelan noted that the company spent three years securing planning permission for the site in what he described as a desirable area of Lancaster.
Lender’s approach to SME developers
Mark Roberts, relationship director at Assetz Capital, said the transaction demonstrates the lender’s capacity to structure facilities outside typical lending 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,” Roberts said.
The financing structure includes early-stage flexibility designed to address cash flow requirements during initial construction phases. Dave Symondson of Devbrok facilitated the funding arrangement.
The development adds to the pipeline of mixed-tenure housing schemes targeting family buyers and affordable housing requirements in the Lancaster area.