Crystal Specialist Finance (CSF) and Amicus have secured deals totalling over £9.1m to ensure the successful purchase and development of a largescale residential project for an established property developer.

Initially a £3m bridge was agreed to ensure a successful acquisition of the Grade II listed building, despite a pending planning application decision which was ultimately agreed.

This was followed by a further development finance loan structed to clear the existing finance agreement with an extra £1.9m released at phase one and £4.22m at phase two of the ongoing project.

The overall gross development value of the project is over £18m and will include a change of use from office (Class B1) to residential (Class C3), which will ultimately comprise of 33 one, two and three bed dwellings.

Michael Fisher, Development Finance Director at CSF, said: “We were approached by a broker whose client needed a quick solution to secure a historic building, which at the time had no planning approval but still required maximum financial leverage.

“Having looked at the application in-depth we proposed an initial bridge and subsequent development finance product, a bespoke solution that was only possible thanks to the team’s in-depth knowledge and the close relationships we have built with our panel of lenders, including Amicus.”

Alan Dorrington, Senior Underwriter, at Amicus added: “Having provided the initial facility for this project, and appreciating the potential of the build and track record of the developer, we ringfenced additional funding at an early stage.  The developer’s reputation for developing high quality, contemporary property is second-to-none and we are confident that the new project will be an enormous success.”

CSF operates across five specialist divisions: Bridging, Commercial, Development Finance, Second Charge Loans and Specialist Mortgages. The business is open to applications on all types of properties in England, Scotland and Wales, with the company having access to over 80 lenders, including exclusive product lines.