The Challenge
Portway Finance was approached by a developer who had recently completed a residential scheme and was looking to exit development finance without selling the completed units. The client’s objective was to repay the development lender in full while retaining the assets for long-term rental income.
To achieve this, six completed flats needed to be transferred from the original development SPV into a newly formed rental SPV, introducing both legal and structural complexity.
Additional challenges included:
- Full repayment of the development loan required
- Transfer of assets between SPVs
- Foreign national shareholders and multiple equity partners
- Newly created individual leases on each unit
- A historic liquidation on record
- A high loan amount required to clear the development facility in full
Many lenders were unwilling to consider the case due to the combination of ownership structure, background issues, and the transition from development to investment finance.
Our Solution
Using our detailed understanding of buy-to-let and SPV lending criteria, Portway Finance identified a lender offering a low pay rate buy-to-let product capable of raising sufficient funds to fully repay the development lender.
The selected lender was comfortable with:
- Newly incorporated SPVs
- Foreign national involvement
- Complex shareholder and equity structures
- Recently created leases
- Development-to-investment transitions
We structured the finance to prioritise long-term asset retention, rather than forcing a sale, and secured a five-year fixed-rate buy-to-let mortgage to provide stability and predictability.
The Outcome
The transaction completed successfully with:
- £3,075,000 buy-to-let mortgage arranged
- Development finance repaid in full
- Six units transferred into a rental SPV
- Assets retained for long-term rental income
- Stable financing in place for the next five years at 4.76%
This case demonstrates how the right lender selection and structuring can transform a completed development into a sustainable long-term investment, even where legal, ownership, and historic complexities exist.
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