How to Raise £1 Million Quickly

Most people view debt in terms of products: mortgages, commercial finance, securities-backed lending, luxury asset finance, crypto finance and so on. For most of our clients, however, the reality is that financing is less about the product itself and more about what the capital allows them to do. Debt is a tool individuals and businesses use to make something happen, achieve a goal, leverage an opportunity, streamline a transaction or overcome a challenge.

Especially in today's markets, debt is also a solution: it is an opportunity creator and problem solver. When we think about financing as a solution, the focus often shifts to how quickly the borrower can access liquidity, the availability of finance, the flexibility of the loan and how competitively it's priced.

Of these, speed and price tend to be the most important. The more urgent the problem or opportunity, the more critical it is for the borrower to be able to access capital quickly. Here, we cover what anyone who wants to raise more than £1 million quickly in the current environment should consider.

Fast, High-Value Finance: Options

Securities, cryptocurrencies and property are some of the fastest assets to raise significant capital against, and the lenders that operate in this space can offer loans of £1 million or more.

Bridging Finance

Bridging loans, used by individuals and businesses, are some of the best ways to raise significant capital quickly. They are secured against residential or commercial real estate, and bridging loans can last from a few days up to three years. We can arrange offers in just 24 to 48 hours, and borrowers can draw down funds in as little as a few days or a couple of weeks, depending on how quickly they need liquidity. Borrowers can use bridging loans for almost any reason, from buying different types of property quickly to raising capital to cover a short-term funding gap, consolidating debt or investing in a personal or business opportunity.

Securities-Backed Lending

Securities-backed lending offers another route to raising significant capital quickly. Lenders are used to moving fast and can assess a borrower's securities and suitability for a loan before completing the underwriting process. Again, we can arrange and complete these deals in as little as one to two weeks if needed, and borrowers can use finance in many different scenarios, from diversifying investments to buying property. Lenders usually offer Lombard loans as a credit line that can be used at any time during the loan period. Borrowers can use venture capital funds, private equity, investment funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, liquid portfolios and stock, pre-IPO stock, bonds, stock in private companies and a single line of stock as collateral for a loan.

Crypto Finance

Borrowing against cryptocurrencies can be a way to create liquidity without selling digital currencies. As with bridging and securities-backed lending, there is no one way to use a crypto-backed loan, and lenders are happy to consider different scenarios for how the borrower will use the finance. Buying real estate, investing in different asset classes, investing in more crypto and other uses are all possible.

Raising Significant Capital Quickly: What to Know

LTV

The type of loan you opt for will define how much you can borrow. High-value loans, anything above £1 million, remain available. Bridging lenders may offer around 60% to 75% LTV, depending on the transaction, your plans and how you will deploy the loan.

LTV in securities-backed lending and crypto finance deals will depend on the securities or cryptocurrencies you will pledge as collateral, but 50% LTV is relatively standard in the current market. Here, it's worth noting that rather than trying to maximise how much you can borrow at any cost, a lower LTV in these deals can work to your advantage, as you may be less likely to incur margin calls that could prevent you from executing your plans effectively.

If HNW borrowers can't raise as much finance as they need against a single asset or their securities, we can arrange finance against multiple asset classes. Effectively mixing and matching different asset classes within a borrower's portfolio can increase the overall finance they can raise. Here, negotiation is important to streamline the deal overall, secure competitive terms and ensure that the transaction can be completed in the minimum timeframe.

Defining a Plan

'I need a million-pound loan' has never secured anyone a great or fast finance deal, no matter how wealthy or successful the borrower is.

It's worth noting that the loans borrowers can access fastest also tend to be the most flexible. Lenders are open to seeing these loans used in different ways, provided there is a solid use case for lending. However, because of this flexibility, lenders want to know how the borrower, or their advisers, will deploy the capital, what the plan is and how the loan will be managed. Anyone who needs to access significant capital quickly will need to document these elements effectively, something we can assist with and explain in more detail to lenders to support our clients' access to significant finance.

Separate Speed From Certainty of Funding

One factor we focus on with clients who need significant capital quickly is whether they need the capital fast, which sometimes they do, or whether they need certainty of funding quickly. The difference is subtle, but they are often entirely distinct scenarios that affect how we arrange the deal.

For example, in some cases, a client will need to access capital in a couple of weeks to pursue an opportunity or solve a problem. Here, we will negotiate and complete the transaction to that timescale, helping the client draw down funds in the minimum timeframe possible.

In other scenarios, what constitutes 'urgent' is less about an individual needing capital quickly and more about needing certainty that they can access finance. It is this certainty that our clients need quickly, rather than the finance itself, so they can commit to moving ahead with projects, investing, purchasing assets or whatever else they need to do. In many cases, when they draw down funds is secondary to the certainty that they can borrow. Here, we can help clients arrange financing and give them confidence that they can access the capital they need when they need it. In these cases, however, the completion of the transaction can often unfold at a slightly slower pace, which may be beneficial in terms of managing the deal and reducing pressure.

Be Clear and Transparent

Sometimes, our clients need access to capital quickly to solve a problem that has arisen unexpectedly. The scenarios here are almost endless: they may need to save an asset, pay a debt, save face in a business deal, settle a liability and so on.

Lenders, particularly bridging lenders, are open to these scenarios and won't pass judgment on why a borrower needs to raise finance. However, especially when a borrower needs to access capital to solve a problem against the clock, it can be tempting to try and outthink a lender. Often, this translates to making assumptions about what the lender wants to see, what they can consider and what they won't like. The reality is that lenders want to see all the facts of the case upfront and transparently so they can make a lending decision.

Especially when an individual needs to access significant capital quickly, the application and underwriting process will move at pace. Anything that doesn't add up can stall the process or, at worst, break the deal. Lenders will require lots of documentation and information; anything that isn't shared, disclosed or explained upfront will eventually come to light. It is better to be frank about anything you think lenders won't like as early as possible, presenting the facts honestly and giving further explanation if context will help. As a company, Enness excels at this. At this level, and for HNW clients, many lenders can consider loans more holistically than in other parts of the market, so it pays to be transparent.

Enness does not give advice or recommendations on Securities-Backed Lending or Crypto-Backed Lending and lender introductions are unregulated.