United Trust Bank Property Development loan book exceeds £1bn following record year
United Trust Bank’s property development loan book has exceeded £1bn for the first time following a record year of new originations.
The specialist lender has expanded the property development sales team to 24 property development directors and managers supporting housebuilders operating across England and Wales. In addition, last year UTB formed a number of strategic partnerships with Government agencies designed to help housebuilders and developers gain access to competitive, higher geared funding.
In February 2021 UTB announced a 5-year lending alliance with Homes England with the launch of the £250m Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to support small and medium-sized housebuilders with development finance at up to 70% Loan to Gross Development Value. The Housing Accelerator Fund provides construction loans between £1m and £10m as part of a drive to continue the diversification of the housing market over the coming years.
Then in May 2021 UTB secured an ENABLE Build guarantee via the British Business Bank. The guarantee was the first to be issued under the new programme and will allow UTB to significantly increase the amount of development finance it provides to housebuilders. Over the lifetime of the £250m guarantee it is expected to help support the construction of over 2,700 units of new housing through the provision of more than £500m of funding to housebuilders.
This year the Bank intends to continue its expansion of the division with more locally based property development directors and managers working with housebuilders to provide a range of development finance and developer exit solutions. It will also implement technology designed to accelerate and simplify the funding application process for brokers and customers and continue to explore opportunities to develop its offering and establish further strategic alliances.
Adam Bovingdon, head of property development at United Trust Bank commented: “Exceeding a £1bn development loan book is an impressive achievement for the team and the Bank. We supported more SME housebuilders with more funding in 2021 than we ever have before and our loan commitments now support the delivery of in excess of 6000 new homes across England and Wales at any one time.
“Our personal approach to development finance combined with the team’s deep knowledge of the construction industry has attracted diverse customers building outstanding homes from Cornwall to Cumbria. Our partnerships with Homes England and the British Business Bank have also enabled us to boost lending of higher geared funding to qualifying housebuilders and developers, giving them the flexibility to retain more of their cash to seize and invest in other opportunities. Our aim this year is to further develop our compelling offering and assist the resurgence of the SME housebuilding sector.”
