Specialist lender Octopus Property (OP) lent a record £80 mln (€91 mln) in November, including the largest ever development facility and a record bridging loan for the UK-focused firm.
'2017 has been a year of records for Octopus Property, a strong endorsement of our strategy to become the leading provider of specialist property finance in the UK,' said Mario Berti, CEO of Octopus Property.
'Underpinning all of this is the continued growth and excellence of our first-class team to over 60 people, and further diversification of our product portfolio.'
Highlights of the month included a £31.3 mln (€35.6 mln) short-term loan to fund the purchase of a West London office development; a record development deal of more than £20 mln (€22.7 mln) for a Brighton residential scheme; the first loans originated with its new commercial term product and latest buy-to-let product; plus loans completed across residential, commercial and development product sets.
'(This is) further proof that the market for alternative lenders is going from strength to strength, driven by supportive macro conditions and increasing retrenchment by more traditional lenders,' concluded Berti.
