Octopus Property has completed £6.4m of loans for new distributor Black Book Finance within a working week.
The loans are secured against four assets and included an acquisition bridging loan to support the purchase of a former public house in Woolwich and the refinancing of a near-completed residential development in Wimbledon. The loans were all time-sensitive and required complex individual loan structures to be put in place, allowing for value growth and phased drawdowns against each asset.
The relationship between Octopus Property and Black Book Finance began in February when Dan Murray, one of Octopus’s business development managers, met with the Black Book team to discuss the recently launched range of new lending products.
D’mitri Zaprzala, head of sales, Octopus Property, said: “Having written over £80m of loans in March, it’s been crucial to keep things going at full speed. I’m delighted to see our experienced sales team generating such fruitful new relationships and am confident that our speed, certainty and flexibility of lending will ensure that we remain aligned with Black Book Finance and this relationship will go from strength to strength.
“Black Book’s growth since launching last November has been incredibly impressive and our shared commitment to award-winning products and service has made for a natural fit.
“Michael Clapper, executive chairman of Black Book Finance, added: “These completions are great examples of why I chose to return to the industry after an eight year absence. Octopus Property are forward-thinking, keen to lend, and take a sensible approach to their underwriting decisions.
“The market has once again become an exciting place to operate, and there are now huge opportunities for all introducers, provided they partner up with a distributor who knows how to get the job done, whatever their client’s finance requirements.”
