West One Loans completes £1.6m loan against Knightsbridge pub

The borrower paid £4.0m for the prestigious 3,500 square foot pub, located on Montpellier Street, opposite Harrods.  The exclusive site’s buyer, a property investor based in the British Virgin Islands, took out a 9 month loan at 1% per month to help fund the purchase.

Duncan Kreeger, Chairman of West One Loans, explained:

“By lending to an off-shore entity based in the British Virgin Islands, we have shown West One Loans is capable of handling a broad spectrum of cases including the most complicated international deals.  But this case also shows we are continuing to lend against commercial property on a consistent basis. 

A lot of short term lenders have no option but to focus on residential deals.  They know commercial property is harder to refinance and the deals are harder to underwrite.  The West One Bridging Index shows just 16% of all loans by volume are now against commercial property, compared to 30% back in 2009.  I’m pleased to say we are bucking that trend.”

Daniel Fireman, managing partner of CKFT solicitors, who advised West One Loans said,

“The deal went through without a hitch.  Despite the complexity of the case, West One made sure this was a relatively painless process and all the professionals involved combined to deliver the security and funding to the satisfaction of both lender and borrower.  West One have shown they are willing and able to do difficult deals. 

This is a prime example of a good but complicated loan that less committed lenders may have been unable to perform due to the complexities of the deal and the tight timescale.  Both West One and the borrower were accommodating and pro active and this ensured the loan was completed ahead of deadline.”

The borrower, who declined to be named in the press, said,

“West One proved extremely helpful.  They weren’t dogmatic about doing a different sort of loan and we didn’t find ourselves tied-up in red tape.  Duncan and I met at our office in Mayfair to iron out the small print and ensure the deal went through without any hiccups.  This should be the start of a great working relationship.”