Downing Development Finance An experienced property team.

£103 million

has been committed in loans by our experienced property team as at 31 May 2020.

65%

is the estimated loan-to-gross-development value of the portfolio as at 31 May 2020. This should not exceed 70%.

Less than 9%

weighted average borrower interest rate

About this company

Downing Development Finance (DDF) was set up in 2017 at a time when banks were continuing to limit development finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). DDF and its subsidiary Downing Development Lending Ltd make secured loans to residential property developers, property development companies and trading businesses looking to build new, or alter existing, premises.

To see what bond(s) DDF is currently offering please log in to your account, or if you are not yet a member of Downing Crowd you can sign up here.

Note that DDF bonds are restricted to High Net Worth Individuals, Sophisticated and Professional investors only.

Examples of property developments and bridging loans funded by DDF:

1. JC Gill Developments Limited, Great Barford

A £2.7 million bridging loan assisted with the acquisition of a 2.5 hectare development site with planning for 81 residential units.

2. Abode Holdings Limited, Poynton

£1.9 million was lent to support the development of four detached houses in Poynton, Cheshire.

3. 12 Harrowdene Limited, London

A £2.5 million loan was given to an experienced developer to aid the construction of six flats and two houses in Wembley, London.

Key facts:

What loans have been issued?

As at 31 May 2020

	Postcode	Type	Total committed amount	Loan term	Estimated LTGDV
1	BT7	Residential	£10,607,536	26 months*	66%
2	TA9	Residential	£8,701,889	18 months	68%
3	KT5	Residential	£7,171,717	21 months	68%
4	TW15	Residential	£6,829,082	18 months	68%
5	AL5	Residential	£5,316,327	24 months	67%
6	7RB	Residential	£4,701,920	24 months	69%
7	GL4	Residential	£4,285,918	18 months	68%
8	LU5	Residential	£3,343,687	18 months	68%
9	TW12	Residential	£3,234,138	18 months	60%
10	GL5	Residential	£3,248,287	24 months	63%
11	SW19	Residential	£2,929,691	24 months	62%
12	WF9	Residential	£2,751,269	18 months	51%
13	ME17	Residential	£2,097,222	20 months	65%
14	OX10	Residential	£3,024,463	18 months	65%
15	L23	Residential	£2,606,450	18 months*	72%
16	TW15	Residential	£2,283,654	18 months	65%
17	SW16	Residential	£2,142,857	18 months	70%
18	CR5	Residential	£2,140,571	18 months	61%
19	HP6	Residential	£1,961,805	18 months	60%
20	CR7	Residential	£1,808,778	18 months	59%
21	KT2	Residential	£1,791,878	18 months	58%
22	DL17	Residential	£1,976,469	15 months	66%
23	TQ7	Residential	£1,649,485	18 months	68%
24	SK12	Residential	£1,566,327	18 months	67%
25	OX14	Residential	£1,536,267	24 months	65%
26	2JT	Residential	£1,503,685	18 months	65%
27	4HR	Residential	£1,412,245	18 months	60%
28	W3	Residential	£1,360,995	18 months	62%
29	LU2	Residential	£1,336,735	18 months	40%
30	KT15	Residential	£1,326,531	18 months	67%
31	BN12	Residential	£1,317,473	6 months	52%
32	SG4	Residential	£1,194,975	15 months	67%
33	KT12	Residential	£1,142,857	12 months	67%
34	LU4	Residential	£1,020,408	18 months	67%
35	L23	Residential	£707,071	18 months	69%
36	TS21	Residential	£561,224	9 months	65%
37	OX2	Residential	£404,040	18 months	55%
38	SN6	Residential	£253,165	12 months	65%

Total loanbook committed amount	£103,348,091
Weighted average LTGDV	65.0%
Weighted average borrower interest rate	8.89%

*loan extension granted

Why does DDF lend to property developers?
- DDF believes investments in property debt can produce relatively stable and predictable returns.
- Loans backed by property can be seen as lower risk and less volatile than non asset-backed investments.
- Property loans that are backed by bricks and mortar or land can improve recovery prospects if the borrower can't repay the loan.
Who is the team behind Downing Development Finance?
Downing has over eight years’ experience of making loans in the UK asset-backed and property development sectors, funding more than 80 projects since 2010, totalling approximately £240 million of lending.
The DDF team is led by Parik Chandra, Partner and Head of Residential Finance. Parik has 18+ years financial services experience, with a specialism in real estate finance but with broader experience including leveraged finance, restructuring and private equity placement. He was previously a Director on the Real Estate Finance Team at Funding Circle, where he transacted over 100 development finance and bridging deals.
Parik is supported by an investment team consisting of:
- John Pollington, Investment Director: John has wealth of experience in the financial services industry, working at institutions including Coutts, Kleinwort Benson and Investec. John has spent around 15 years funding small to medium-sized housebuilders across the UK, with projects ranging in size from a few houses up to 100 unit schemes.
- Richard Lamb, Investment Director: Richard has over 18 years’ experience in the sector and 30 years of banking experience overall, having previously held roles at Octopus Property, Triodos Bank, Unity Trust Bank, Clydesdale Bank and Barclays.
- John Pilbeam, Construction Director: John has 30 years’ wide-ranging experience gained at partner level with two major surveying practices, and roles including Head of Construction (Europe) with AIG Global Real Estate, European Projects Director with Pyramid Hotel Group and Projects Director with Shore Energy.
- Oliver Pettafor, Loan Analyst: Oliver supports the team with the execution of new deals. Prior to Downing, Oliver worked at ICG Longbow, in the Portfolio Management and Origination teams; focusing on mezzanine debt and whole loans across a range of real estate asset classes.
What is the lending process for property developers?
1. Screening: Each deal is assessed against our lending criteria and presented to the Investment Committee for approval.
2. Due diligence: Thorough diligence is undertaken to ensure the deal dynamics are as presented. Typically, diligence streams include valuation, monitoring surveyor report, Know Your Customer (“KYC”) checks and legal diligence.
3. Commitment: Following completion of diligence, final loan documentation is issued to the borrower outlining committed loan terms.
4. Monitoring: on development projects, monthly interim reports are prepared by the monitoring surveyor, commenting on progress to date against the programme and budget. The progress of sales is closely monitored by the DDF team.
5. Repayment: of a loan is typically through the sale of units or a refinance. Once redemption funds are received, our loan security is discharged.

Downing Development Finance An experienced property team.

£103 million

has been committed in loans by our experienced property team as at 31 May 2020.

65%

is the estimated loan-to-gross-development value of the portfolio as at 31 May 2020. This should not exceed 70%.

Less than 9%

weighted average borrower interest rate

About this company

Key facts:

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