- Client: Successful international businessman and high-net-worth investor living in Dubai
- Portfolio: UK buy-to-let portfolio valued at more than £2 million
- Challenge: Required approximately 75% LTV while living overseas, with one property held through a BVI company
- Finance: Interest-only portfolio refinance at 2.75% above LIBOR at the time
The UK buy-to-let market has long attracted international investors, but refinancing a UK property portfolio while living overseas can present additional challenges. Enness was approached by a successful international businessman living in Dubai who was looking to refinance a portfolio of buy-to-let properties in the UK.
The client had a substantial personal net worth and owned a portfolio valued at more than £2 million. The properties generated strong rental income, and the client wanted to refinance the portfolio at approximately 75% loan to value (LTV), allowing capital to be released while retaining an interest in the UK property market.
The level of borrowing was one consideration, but the international nature of the application added another layer of complexity. As a UAE resident, the client required a lender comfortable with overseas borrowers and the associated considerations around residency, income and the wider financial profile.
There was also an additional structural complication. One of the properties was held through a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company, an ownership structure that not all mortgage lenders are prepared to accept. It was therefore important to identify a lender that was comfortable with both the client's international circumstances and the way the portfolio was structured.
Enness referred the case to its London team, who used their specialist lender relationships to identify suitable options. Rather than relying solely on conventional buy-to-let lenders, the team approached a lender experienced in working with international borrowers and more complex property structures.
The lender was comfortable with the client's wider financial position and the strength of the underlying portfolio. They were also prepared to consider the BVI company structure, allowing the properties to be refinanced as part of the wider portfolio.
The resulting facility was structured on an interest-only basis at a rate of 2.75% above LIBOR at the time. This provided the client with a route to refinance the existing UK portfolio while retaining the liquidity benefits associated with an interest-only structure.
The case demonstrates the importance of specialist property portfolio finance expertise when refinancing UK buy-to-let assets from overseas. Residency, ownership structures, rental income and the required LTV can all influence which lenders are able to consider an application.
For international investors with UK property holdings, access to lenders familiar with cross-border applications can be particularly valuable where a portfolio does not fit the criteria of conventional lenders.
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Property values can fall as well as rise, and you may not get back the amount originally invested. Property investments can be illiquid and may take time to sell. Where borrowing is used, your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured against it.
