Commercial Refurbishment
Manchester
£2.4m
Loan Amount
12 months
Loan Term
16 days
To Completion
0.98% a month
Rate
65%
LTV
The Challenge
An experienced property developer had exchanged on a former mill building in Manchester's Northern Quarter with 28 days to complete. The building had been vacant for three years and required a full refurbishment to convert into office space and apartments. Two previous brokers had attempted to arrange the funding but failed to deliver terms. One had secured a DIP but the lender pulled out at the last minute due to concerns about the building's condition. The developer was at serious risk of losing the deal — and their deposit.
The Complexity
This wasn't a straightforward deal. The building had mixed-use planning consent still subject to conditions. There was an outstanding contaminated land report from the local authority. The vendor was threatening to pull out and forfeit the deposit if completion didn't happen within the contractual deadline. Most lenders wouldn't touch this combination of issues — vacant commercial property, environmental concerns, conditional planning, and a hostile timeline.
How We Structured It
We identified a specialist commercial bridging private-fund lender we work with who had direct experience with this type of asset in the Manchester market. Rather than presenting the deal as a problem to be solved, we reframed it as an opportunity — highlighting the developer's track record, the strong rental market in the Northern Quarter, and the significant value uplift post-refurbishment. We commissioned an independent environmental desktop study that addressed the contamination concerns and worked with the developer's solicitor to ensure the planning conditions could be discharged within the loan term. The lender's in-house legal team was instructed in parallel with the valuation to compress the timeline.
The Outcome
Completed in
16 days
Rate achieved
0.98% a month
Total finance cost
£362,707
Result
Completed 12 days inside the deadline
How the days went
- Day 0Exchanged on a vacant mill building in the Northern Quarter with 28 days to complete. Two earlier brokers had not delivered terms, and one lender had pulled a DIP over the condition of the building.
- In parallelA specialist commercial private-fund lender we work with is identified. An independent environmental desktop study is commissioned, and the developer's solicitor works on discharging the planning conditions within the loan term.
- In parallelThe lender's in-house legal team is instructed alongside the valuation rather than after it.
- Day 16Completion, 12 days inside the contractual deadline. The deposit was protected.
What nearly broke it
The DIP that disappeared. A lender had already pulled out at the last minute over the building's condition, the vendor was threatening to walk and forfeit the deposit, and the contaminated land report and conditional planning consent were both still open. The funder had to be comfortable with all of it at once.
If you are in the same position
If a lender has already pulled out over condition, answer the concern with evidence, not reassurance. An independent report commissioned on day one gave the next lender something to underwrite.
Related: Refurbishment finance · Bridging loans in Manchester
Similar Situation?
Planning works on a property that a mainstream lender won't look at yet? We'd like to hear what you have in mind. Or read more about refurbishment finance.
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