Laxfield increases whole loan lending capacity

UK debt brokerage Laxfield Capital has increased the allocation for its small-ticket lending platform, giving it the ability to provide whole loans of up to £100 million.

The Laxfield National platform was launched in August 2015, with funding allocated by two global institutional investors. The platform initially targeted small-ticket loans up to 70 percent loan-to-value to finance repositioning and operational assets, as well as income-producing property.

During 2016, Laxfield was increasingly asked to consider larger financings, prompting it to expand the platform to do whole loans of up to £100 million across a spectrum of assets, said Alexandra Lanni, head of transactions for the Laxfield Group.

“Borrowers are looking to create new relationships with lenders, recognising that debt supply has changed and continues to evolve,” said Lanni.

“We saw an opportunity to bring new capital to mid-market lending in 2015. Initially we focussed on deals of £1 million to £40 million where we saw particular demand. That strategy worked well and we successfully invested our initial allocation,” she added.

Laxfield National can provide finance up to 75 percent LTV for three to seven years, priced from 300 basis points. Loans can be written against all main real estate sectors except healthcare throughout the UK.

The loans are written on a lend-to-hold basis and are backed by “reputable balance sheet capital”, according to Laxfield.

Since its inception in 2015, Laxfield National has grown a book of 38 loans under management with seven additional deals due to close.

In January 2016, when the launch of Laxfield National was announced, managing director Adam Slater said: “We have been quietly testing this market for the past six months to determine the returns available and depth of demand for finance. Our data has been pointing for some time to increased activity in the smaller loans market, and there is demand for finance with risk/return appetite sitting between the clearing banks and debt funds.”