Logo
Global

Capital raise against a £1.8million London commercial property for American national

HEAD OF SPECIALIST LENDING

Chris Whitney

Capital raise against a £1.8million London commercial property for American national
Chris Whitney
HEAD OF SPECIALIST LENDING

Chris Whitney

An American client came to me recently looking to capital raise against her restaurant that she owned with her husband who is an EU national. They have successfully run the business for over a decade, and the restaurant is now worth £1.8million. The couple were looking to capital raise against the restaurant and lease it out to a new operator. The proceeds would then be used for future business ventures.

The couple both had UK residency, but complications ensued as the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) of their business was a US-based entity. Unlike the UK, the US lacks a central database of companies that maintains information on shareholdings and directors. This made proving my client’s ownership of the entity and her shareholding very difficult.

OUR SOLUTION

Following research into the US entity, I was able to determine that it was not properly incorporated. This put my clients at potential risk that they were unaware of. To resolve this with all necessary due diligence, I helped to restructure the ownership vehicles – a sort of tidy up of the case’s complexities – which allowed the loan to be approved. This was ideal for the clients as their preferred lender was happy to lend to both UK residents and non-UK nationals.

I secured a 5-year managed a variable rate of 2.89% with a 1.36% loading fee, making a very attractive total of 4.25% all-in.

Information contained in our case studies is for market and illustrative purposes only. In some cases, these may be made up of multiple cases and are for illustrative purposes only.

Some case studies are made up of enquiries that have come into the business, not all business completes, and the posting of a case study does not represent a completed piece of business.