Octane Capital has biggest quarter ever since launch

#3rdgen lender, Octane Capital, today announced that Q1 2021 was its biggest quarter ever for completions, with £92m loaned — an increase of 121% on the fourth quarter of 2020.

The completions were balanced evenly across all four of the lender’s categories: ‘product-less’ refurbs, bridging and developer exit loans, and its unique ‘zero stress-tested’ medium-term buy-to-let products.

Highlighting the level of demand, the number of applications in Q1 2021 also increased by 126% on the final three months of last year. The lender says the Stamp Duty holiday and resurgence in buy-to-let have been key drivers of activity.

Jonathan Samuels, CEO, Octane Capital, commented: “The first three months of the year have been the most frantic we’ve ever experienced. The property market is absolutely booming due to the Stamp Duty holiday and our buy-to-let product, which comes with zero stress-testing, is proving a particular hit with brokers and their landlord clients. More broadly, what we’re finding is that we have now become a lifecycle lender for brokers, providing bridges to help their clients acquire units and move through the planning process, then funding the refurbishments to enhance value and yield, and ultimately moving them onto our 5-year buy-to-let loans. It’s a seamless and hassle-free transition.”