As we contemplate what our summer holidays will look like this year and that when we return we will have the start of Quarter 3 upon us, I began to ponder on where we have come as a sector so far this year.
In December 2020 I wrote a blog entitled “Resilience, Perseverance and Opportunities” and summed up my take on 2021 as below:
“Indeed, I think opportunity will be a key theme as we go into next year. Clients have continued to work on new schemes during 2020, house price data is holding up as are valuations and market sentiment. With renewed appetite from funders the pipeline of work is strong across the SME housebuilding sector. From a Cowgills perspective I relish the challenge!”
I won’t dwell on the resilience and perseverance part as I am sure we have all experienced this in spades, but I think my summary stands up to scrutiny fairly well. The development market is certainly hot, from bidding for sites, build activity through to sales demand (and of course material prices but let’s not spoil things!).
From a Cowgills point of view we continue to work on numerous residential schemes with SME housebuilders and activity has been matched by development lenders stepping up to the plate as we have progressed through the year with new stretched LTV products, partnerships with Homes England, peak cashflow based facilities, ‘green’ products, JV options and keener pricing.
Whilst the fundamentals remain in terms of liquidity of location and experience there is undoubtedly a willingness to support sensible schemes and equally to recognise planning gain, consider deferred consideration structures and the benefits of offerings like the sales guarantee product from our friends at Landmark Development Solutions.
Getting the right advice on options and structuring has never been more important as indeed is being confident on deliverability and standing of the target funder, particularly as the market opens up to new lenders.
We work with lenders across the capital stack and have relationships at the right level so we can provide an informed and knowledgeable opinion. Equally we understand that every deal is different, and things are not necessarily straightforward.
As an advisor that concept of resilience and perseverance is in our DNA and ‘we relish the challenge!’
Disclaimer
The information was correct at time of publishing but may now be out of date.
