United Trust Bank funds £10.29m development in Bridlington by Ashcourt Group Ltd.

14 July 2021

United Trust Bank (UTB) is funding a development of 22 new homes in a stunning sea-front location in Bridlington, Yorkshire.

The new £10.29m development will be completed by Ashcourt (Bridlington) Ltd, part of the successful family owned Ashcourt Group Ltd.

Barry Dillon, of specialist funding advisory service Newable Finance, acting on behalf of Ashcourt (Bridlington) Ltd, approached United Trust Bank Property Development Director Hardeep Thandi at the end of December 2020 with a proposal for UTB to refinance Ashcourt’s existing loan and provide the additional funding required to complete the construction of the scheme. Hardeep worked closely with all parties over the Christmas period and despite Ashcourt Group being a new UTB customer, by mid January this year Hardeep confirmed that the Bank would provide the £6.03m facility Ashcourt required.

The new development is situated on land formerly belonging to Bridlington Golf Club and the 22 new homes, comprising of detached 4 & 5 bedroomed homes, will either enjoy superb uninterupted views over Bridlington’s South Beach or back on to the golf course.

The project was made possible by Ashcourt Group working closely with Bridlington Golf Club to achieve planning consent for the new homes and to provide a new clubhouse, including hotel accommodation and function rooms, which Ashcourt Group completed in October 2019. The project is an excellent example of regional developers working with land owners to release suitable development land for mutual benefit.

Ashcourt began off-plan marketing of the new homes over the Easter Weekend and achieved 8 reservations. Construction of the new homes is now underway with a total of 9 units reserved to date.

Kurt Bousfield, Director of Ashcourt Group, commented: “We approached Barry to look at increasing our choice of potential development finance partners and UTB were one of the lenders he suggested. Although we knew very little about each other at the outset, we were impressed with Hardeep’s enthusiasm and efficiency and UTB’s appetite and willingness to support our development in Bridlington with a sizeable £6m facility. We are looking to grow our residential development business over the next few years with several exciting projects in the pipeline. I’m sure there will be several opportunities for Ashcourt and UTB to work together again and build upon this successful start.”

Barry Dillon, Regional Manager for Yorkshire of Newable Finance, commented: “I’m very happy to have introduced Ashcourt Group to United Trust Bank and to have begun what I believe will be a successful partnership lasting well beyond this development. Hardeep and the UTB team were brought into the project when it was already quite advanced and I was impressed at how quickly Hardeep got out to the site and got to grips with what was needed. In a short time he developed an understanding of Ashcourt’s business, the detail of the scheme and what Ashcourt required to ensure continuity of the construction programme. “This, combined with excellent communication throughout the process, proved that UTB were the right funding partner to assist Ashcourt Group with this development scheme.”

Hardeep Thandi – Director - Property Development, United Trust Bank commented: “Ashcourt Group is one of the most successful construction groups operating across Yorkshire and Humberside and they’ve built an excellent reputation for delivering great quality homes and large public sector projects. UTB is keen to build strong, long term relationships with housebuilders and developers across the Midlands and the North of England and I’m delighted that we’re funding this development occupying a truly unique seafront location. The interest they’ve already had in the development speaks volumes about the quality of the homes and the outstanding views they enjoy. Although at times we were working to tight timescales, it has been a pleasure working with Barry Dillon of Newable, Kurt and his team at Ashcourt and Manjit Virdee and the team at lawyers Schofield Sweeney who pulled out all the stops to ensure the transaction was able to complete on time. I look forward to helping Ashcourt Group build more desirable homes in the future and to assist them in achieving their long term growth plans.”