The Six Monthly Henry Stewart Briefing

Raising and Structuring Finance for Property Transactions

Chairman

Tom Hawley
Director: Joint Ventures
Bank of Scotland

Speakers

JM Erasmus
Partner: Construction Business Recovery
Davis Langdon

Jerome Gatipon-Bachette
Deputy Head of CMBS Europe
SG CIB

Stuart Law
Chief Executive
Assetz® plc

Martin Muirhead
Partner: Property
Kingston Smith LLP

William Newsom
Head of Valuations
Savills

Rawle Parris
Executive Director: Property Derivatives
RBS/ABN AMRO

James Roscoe
Partner
Brodies LLP

Jonathan Simon
Associate Director: Joint Ventures
Bank of Scotland

Ian Stockdale
Senior Partner
Property Finance Team
Clydesdale Bank Plc

Tom Whiteside
Director
Lupton Fawcett LLP

 

Programme

The UK property lending market – lessons from previous downturns. What worked well and what didn't. The art of spotting the upturn early
• The rise of the German lenders
• The rise of the Conduit lenders (CMBS)
• The entry of many other lenders
• The effect of competition between lenders on LTVs, margins etc
• The effect of low cost of money
• The high water mark: 30th June 2007

Funding commercial developments
• What has changed?
- Funding
- Tenant demand
- Investor demand
• What remains the same?
- Location
- Cost
- Delivery
• What can be funded?
- Mixed-use schemes
- Healthcare
- Hotel
- Leisure
- Larger schemes
• What funding is available?
- Loan size
- Pricing
- Percentage of cost
- Structuring
- Finance
• What happens next?
- Will it get better or worse?
- When will we know?
- What are the opportunities?
• Who is currently providing funding and the schemes they are prepared to support

Funding residential development
• What can be funded and what can't
• Loan terms – how have they changed?
• Pricing expectations for your loan
• Security requirements
• How to approach a potential funder
• Backing the right development
• Managing and fixing appraised costs
• Valuation basis and sales and exit strategies
• NHBC registration
• Duties of care, novation and step-in
• Residential vs. commercial funding

The niche lenders and their strategies
• Private investors and property funds – how do you get access to them to fund your project?
• What levels of return are private investors and funds looking for?
• What about property funds, are they different to private investors?
• Why do private investors and funds look to fund developers?
• What do investors get out of their investment other than profits?
• The tax-break that property development can offer high net worth clients

Joint ventures and equity funding
• The impact of the current funding environment
• How to structure a JV
• What to look for / avoid in a JV partner
• Risk management and controls
• Equity returns and the outlook

Refinancing strategies
• When to consider refinancing
• How should this be done?
• What does a dependable financing strategy look like?

Arm and a leg mezzanine funding. When you are in a tight spot – who can you go to. How can you reach them and what they will charge
• Mezzanine debt typical features
• Mezzanine lenders’ profile and return constraints
• Matching borrowers' expectations and mezzanine lenders' requirements?
• From bidding to closing ... a long process
• A land of future opportunities?

Property derivatives: hedging and value opportunities
• Market background
• Applications and rationale
• Where is the value?
• What sort of players are operating in this market?

Latest thinking on the tax aspects of structuring property transactions
• Capital Gains Tax
• Trading vs. investment transactions
• Update on Capital Allowances, VAT and SDLT
• Onshore and offshore structures

Distressed project recovery: refinancing strategies and other options
• Understanding cost and revenue drivers that underpin successful project recovery
• Spotting the early warning signs on your project
• What to do when things have gone wrong? Various options open to funders, including refinancing, stepping in or selling their stake in the development, and their relative risks