More than 10 years on from the global financial crisis, there is an abundance of liquidity for new speculative property developments, with lenders fiercely competing for a share of the market.
£100 million in loan facilities in a record-breaking month
June has been a record-breaking month for Maslow Capital; completing £100 million of new facilities across four deals. The transactions will see the delivery of 1,100 new residential and student accommodation units in Manchester and Glasgow.
In total, these developments will deliver in excess of 847,000 sq. ft. of new residential and student accommodation. Three of the deals, totalling over 736,000 sq. ft. are located in Manchester, with the remaining deal providing 111,000 sq. ft. of purpose-built student accommodation in Glasgow.
Maslow’s record month follows more than £200 million of new development loans so far in 2018; a 20% increase compared with the same period last year. The addition of these four deals takes the total to over £300 million for the six-month period ended June 2018.
These recent closings highlight the strong demand for alternative sources of finance from UK developers. It also reinforces Maslow’s view that there is a broadening appetite for specialist lending.
Sky Mapson, Lead PBSA and Residential Originator at Maslow Capital, who is responsible for the four deals, said:
“The closing of these deals is further proof that not only is the demand out there for specialist funding but that developers are connecting in a big way with providers who combine a flexible approach with real expertise. That we can close £100m in facilities in just one month is a testament to the confidence that we and our clients have in certain parts of the UK and the chronic need for new housing in these cities. These deals demonstrate that we have a strong appetite to support regional developments across the country, providing loan facilities with an average size of £25m to experienced sponsors.”
June has been a tremendous month for Maslow following a strong start to 2018. Maslow Capital is delighted to meet the growing demand for alternative financing from developers throughout the country. In particular, continuing to see more and more opportunities across cities in the north and in Scotland – with Manchester and Glasgow two prime examples. Maslow expects this trend to continue throughout the year, as well as the broader trend of demand from clients for the unique combination of specialist knowledge, balance sheet strength, and structured credit facilities.
An exclusive feature was showcased by Real Estate Capital, read more here.
NEWS: 2018 kicking off with 4 deals, £74 million
Maslow is delighted to announce the completion of four exciting deals with a total of £74 million lent.
The four deals provide funding for new residential developments in London and Manchester, delivering more than 80 new apartments and new commercial space along with 211 student beds in Coventry, and 246 in Sheffield. In aggregate, the developments will deliver more than 195,000 sq. ft. of new accommodation in sought after locations.
Specifically, these loans will assist with the delivery of 18 new apartments and a new commercial unit at Halt Parade, London, NW9 arranged over six floors and the construction of 66 new flats which will be delivered in the Ancoats district of central Manchester, addressing continuing need in the city for well-located apartments.
In Coventry and Sheffield, the funding packages will see more than 450 new student beds brought to market in cities where university accommodation continues to be in high demand. Both cities are growing as centres for education, and these new facilities, which will be located near main university campuses, will be completed in time for the 2018/19 academic year.
The deals represent a continuation of Maslow’s diversification of its exposure into different real estate market segments covering residential, mixed-use and purpose-built student accommodation across the UK.
Maslow Capital Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) Portfolio Update
We are a leading provider of development finance for the construction of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA). To date, we have supported a number of developers with both senior and stretch senior finance facilities and we have a tremendous appetite to grow our loan book by supporting experienced developers with their PBSA schemes.
Next week we’ll be at the Property Week Student Accommodation Conference, and encourage anyone interested or involved in the Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) industry to attend the event and chat with Sky Mapson our PBSA specialist originator and his team at our exhibition stand.
Sky Mapson can be contacted on:
Email: sky.mapson@maslowcapital.com
Mobile: 07500 874 468
Landline: 0207 016 1465
Will they, won’t they? What to expect (or not) in the Autumn Budget
The Autumn Budget is almost upon us and, we have been mulling over what important changes we expect the Chancellor to make.
We anticipate that there will be a change to the way Stamp Duty is structured: the publication of Theresa May’s White Paper earlier in the year identified a broken housing market, and coupled with this and the slowdown nationally in transaction volumes off the back of political and economic uncertainty, change to stamp duty would be a logical next step to fix this.
What we think is unlikely, but not off the table completely, is that there will be any big adjustment at the top end of the market, in the +£1 million category. A small reduction in the charges at the prime end could have a big impact on liquidity, however this is probably not where the Chancellor will be focussed.
A more plausible scenario is another stamp duty holiday for first time buyers, similar to that between 2010 and 2012, when properties below £250,000 were exempt from stamp duty. A move like this is unlikely to have much impact in London where average property prices are £483,568, according to HM Land Registry, but could help improve liquidity in the rest of the UK. A stamp duty holiday together with the continuation of Help to Buy, will benefit this important part of the housing sector.
There have also been calls for the Government to remove stamp duty entirely for older homeowners, to encourage people to downsize. It’s hard to see how this could be implemented but supporters say this would help increase the supply of family sized homes. A guise of this in conjunction with further stimulus for increasing housing supply, rather than just supporting demand, may be at the forefront of the Budget. For example, the government could give corporate tax reductions to encourage developers to deliver new housing in certain areas where there is a particular supply and demand imbalance.
Lastly, in a bid to win back some popularity amongst the younger generations, we anticipate a probable shake-up of student loans, something that would help support the student sector.
Watch this space…