Close Brothers Property Finance provides a detailed analysis of their company and how they assist housebuilders with flexible finance
Our History: At Close Brothers Property Finance, we are property specialists who provide personalised flexible finance to SME housebuilders and investors across the UK. As part of the FTSE 250 Close Brothers Group plc, established in 1878, we have never forgotten the best of old-fashioned relationship banking, the personal touch, the commitment to our clients, and an aversion to switchboards – we are always on the other end of the phone.
We are through-the-cycle lenders, able to keep our doors wide open in good times and bad. This is because we are highly experienced property specialists, backed by the wider Group, which boasts a 140-year history. Across our 100-strong team, we have dedicated lending managers who are focused on supporting our borrowers and always ready to make a firm lending decision, fast. Our team pride themselves on delivering a personal service, continually on hand to offer insights, advice and solutions when things don’t go to plan.
Our Present: We are currently funding around 7,000 units with a total committed loan value of £2billion. We’re thinking constantly outside the box – ironically, in order to build four walls, you have to think outside of them! Our team is proud to have backed both innovative projects and pioneering housebuilders, such as this award-winning passive house development in Faversham, Kent from Gold Property Developments. We also see the number of SME housebuilders in decline and want to reverse that through our work with the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and our ‘Tomorrow’s Developer’ network; which provides young housebuilders with the connections, skills and training to get their foot in the door of the development sector, and stay there.
Our clients trust the breadth of expertise within our lending team and it is a responsibility we do not take lightly. So just as we invest in pioneering developments, so too do we invest in an innovative and experienced team, capable of meeting the evolving needs of our customers. Our Aspire Programme levels up opportunities for apprentices within the Close Brothers Group, fielding candidates across the UK. These are important commitments in guaranteeing our workforce reflects not only our society, but our client base. Our services include development finance for mixed-use, pre-let commercial schemes and residential developments, including retirement and student accommodation. Our clients range from small boutique housebuilders completing five homes per year through to regional developers building over 2,000.
Our Future: Although the future of the UK economy is uncertain, we have never closed our doors or restricted our lending in the past, even through three economic downturns, a pandemic and various lockdowns. The housing shortage remains acute, now more than ever people need energy efficient, well built roofs over their heads, and we are ready to fund them. We’ve been here for 140 years and plan to be around for the next.
Contact
10 Crown Place
London
EC2A 4FT
Telephone: 0203 857 6250
