SME News September 2017

24 SME NEWS / September 2017 , SME specialist Amicus Property Finance has recently announced a record £72m lendingmonth in July. Confident short-termproperty lendingmarket and national expansion seen as key factors in this exceptional growth. SME Specialist Sees Lending Soar Amicus Property Finance, the specialist short term property lender, today announces a record month of lending in July at £72 million. The firm has cited a confident and buoyant short-term property lending market as well as having expanded its offering further across the country with the opening of the Manchester office last year as key factors. The company, which was formed in 2009, is a specialist lender providing short term property loans, SME lending and Working Capital solutions. Since 2009, Amicus Property Finance has lent more than £1 billion. The current property loan portfolio is made up of 83% residential properties and 17% commercial properties. Loans on average are repaid in 9 months and the firm typically lends between £50,000 and £7 million. In February 2015, Amicus announced the acquisition of City-based SME lending brokerage, Norton Folgate Capital Group Limited including Norton Folgate Capital Consulting LLP to extend the firm’s specialist lending capabilities to SME asset finance and leasing, HNWI financing and SME business loans. In November 2015 Amicus launched a new commercial finance business, Amicus Commercial Finance. The business is led by John Wilde and David Hogg who built SME Invoice Finance Limited from start-up in 2000 and sold the business to Metro Bank PLC in July 2013. Amicus Commercial Finance provides a revolving working capital facility based on a proprietary invoice discounting platform which utilises the latest available technology and data extraction methodology. July’s record figure covers a regional spread of loans. Included is the refinancing of a commercial property building to enable the borrowers to obtain planning permission for a 240- flat scheme in Surrey, a large commercial site with outline planning in Suffolk, and the purchase of a development site in the Midlands. The firm has seen a strong first half of 2017 having provided more than £500 million of short term property loans last year, as it further expands its customer base among brokers, professional landlords and developers seeking finance for residential and commercial real estate assets. Keith Aldridge, Managing Director at Amicus Property Finance, said: “We are delighted to have achieved a record month of lending. We’ve seen tremendous growth over the last few years as our localised relationship- based approach resonates well with property professionals looking for specialist lending solutions in a buoyant short-term property market. “We build our most successful loans on the bedrock of effective collaboration and strong relationships. Furthermore through our new Manchester office we have expanded nationally, cementing a strong on-the-ground base to fund local projects and service clients who are often overlooked by more mainstream lenders.” Amicus has seen consistent funding from the Omni Secured Lending (OSL) Funds. Vintages I, II and III have provided more than £500m of institutional third- party funding to the business. During January and February 2017 alone Vintage III raised more than £200m of new institutional capital, which is being actively deployed to fund new lending activity. Subject to authorisation, Amicus anticipates receiving its banking licence this year which will enable it to fulfil its long-term growth objectives by accessing an alternative and efficient source of funding.