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Drawing together the right expertise
Supporting an entrepreneur to purchase their dream family home.
The scenario:
We were approached by a mortgage broker regarding an entrepreneurial client. The entrepreneur had founded a tech company that, with the help of early level investment from the Private Equity sector, had started to make steady progress both in terms of turnover and market awareness.
As the company was very much in the initial stage of growth, the individual was taking a modest income from the business. However, this was not the client’s first start up. With previous success behind her, the entrepreneur was looking to upsize in property (from £3 million to £7 million) and had already found her dream family home.
The property was in high demand so the client needed to move quickly. It became apparent that they would need to transact before they sold their existing property and therefore an open bridge* was required.
As with most entrepreneurs and business owners, income from their ventures is not always uniform or contractual. Obtaining mortgage finance can be difficult through the regular high street channels as this does not meet prescribed income multiple underwriting criteria.
The solution:
The entrepreneur needed to access financing promptly in order to secure this property. We therefore met with the client’s Chief Financial Officer, accountant, and solicitor within 24 hours in order to consider credible income and repayment options.
By working as a team with the client’s advisers and by analysing both personal and business assets and income, we were able to ascertain suitable levels of income and repayment strategies to cover both a short-term open bridge and longer-term mortgage finance.
The open bridge was provided over an 18-month term which allowed enough time for the client’s existing property to be sold. The interest rate was variable, and the reference rate was over KH Base Rate.** No early repayment fees applied.
The longer-term mortgage was provided over 7 years, which accommodated for the sale of the client’s company. The amount was split into variable and fixed parts, which provided the client with an appropriate level of protection from rising rates whilst having the flexibility to repay the variable rate portion without any early repayment charge.
The speed of the execution of the transaction was such that the client was able to move in within 6 weeks of receiving our offer letter.
* An open bridging loan is a mortgage that typically has a term of 2 years or less.
** The Kleinwort Hambros Base Rate (“KHBR”) is a Bank-defined rate that reflects our variable lending costs in the given currency. These Base Rates are revised periodically. In practice, for developed currencies without negative monetary policy (such as GBP and USD), the KH Base Rate has never deviated from the Central Bank base rate. Nonetheless, we retain the right to adjust the rate if the Central Bank base rate fails to reflect our variable costs to support the loan. The KHBR are published on our website.
Pursuing a passion for property renovation.
The scenario:
Having enjoyed a very successful career in media, a client retired early in order to pursue her passion for property renovation. Her latest project involved renovating her main residence and was due to be completed imminently. The client was looking to refinance the development loan used to fund the project, with some equity released for maintenance charges. In total, she was seeking £3 million financing.
This client was introduced to SG Kleinwort Hambros by a mortgage broker with whom we have a strong and trusted relationship. A tailored solution was required as the client had no regular income source and limited cash assets, instead living from the capital gains from her renovation projects. The proposed repayment strategy involved selling her main residence which needed careful consideration.
The mortgage broker conducted detailed preliminary work to analyse the client’s circumstances, objectives and constraints. This was instrumental in enabling us to propose a suitable financing structure swiftly.
The solution:
Our credit experts conducted an initial assessment to identify the additional information required to undertake a complete analysis of the client’s circumstances and borrowing requirements. Discussions with the mortgage broker confirmed our understanding of the client’s situation.
The mortgage broker also informed us that the client was expecting a liquidity event in the coming weeks, due to the sale of a property that she had renovated. We conducted cash flow modelling to project the client’s financial position following this sale and concluded that it would be sufficient to cover both committed and day-to-day expenditure.
Through ongoing communication with the mortgage broker regarding the repayment strategy, we identified a downsizing pattern in the client’s successive primary residences. Taking account of her wider family circumstances, we devised a repayment strategy which was suitable for the client – offering a £3 million interest only loan with a 5-year tenor.
Taking a longer term view of property markets.
The scenario:
A mortgage broker introduced us to a client who was seeking direct exposure to UK and Channel Islands residential property with a strategy aimed at acquisition – development – sale.
Over time, the client’s investment strategy evolved as she felt it was prudent to take a longer-term view of property markets. She was also looking to diversify her non property holdings, held predominantly in hedge funds and private equity instruments, into more traditional investments.
The solution:
Converting the short-term property debt into longer term buy-to-let mortgages released equity from the properties, providing the initial capital to fund a discretionary portfolio mandate.
The client matched the amount of the released equity with her own resources in order to increase the size of the investment pool. A discretionary mandate was then constructed in accordance with her risk profile.
In order to further bolster the portfolio, an element of debt was introduced by way of a loan which was secured against the lending value attributed to the portfolio.
The restructured property debt provided the client with maximum flexibility to consider market opportunities with a longer-term approach, the added benefit of income from the properties and the capacity to drive much needed diversification through more traditional liquid investments.
Please consider:
- Property is a high-risk, long-term investment, so it may not be suitable for everyone.
- We recommend you take independent tax advice on any investment or leverage. It’s important to appreciate the specific risks associated with investment leverage before making any investment decisions.
- Your home may be repossessed if you don’t keep up repayments on your home mortgage.
- If you borrow to buy an investment property and fail to keep up with the required payments, the property may be repossessed, or a receiver of rents appointed.
- Lending against an asset which is continually changing in value carries certain risks. If the value of your investment portfolio falls below the value of your loan, then you may be asked to cover a margin call. Currency exchange fluctuations could also have a negative effect, if borrowing in a currency different to that in which the assets in your portfolio are denominated.