Recognise Bank provides £670k loan for residential children’s home deal
18 July 2022
Commercial mortgage used to purchase new premises.
Recognise Bank has agreed a £670,000 commercial mortgage for an experienced care home provider. The loan will enable the client, The Lewis Group, to purchase Bay Tree House in Gravesend, Kent, which will be used as a residential children’s home.
The Lewis Group was introduced to Recognise Bank by Empire Commercial Finance. The case had been put to a number of other lenders before being introduced to Ian Fields, Business Development Manager at Recognise, who understood how strong the business plan was.
The borrower was able to utilise Recognise’s commercial mortgage, using makeweight security from their existing portfolio.
The premises required reconfiguration and development for trading, which has now been completed. The Lewis Group is currently finalising the Ofsted authorisation process and the expectation is that Bay Tree House will see its first residents move in by the end of July.
Martin Johnson, Director at Empire Commercial Finance, said:
“There is chronic under-provision of this type of children’s care home. Thankfully Ian and the Recognise Bank team understood the social purpose and saw the business case was sound. We all worked hard to get this case successfully through to completion.”
David Lewis, Director of The Lewis Group, added:
“I was very pleased with Recognise Bank. They were good people to deal with and very personable. Often you get pushed from pillar to post with other lenders, whereas with Recognise we dealt with the same people through the whole process. I’d definitely work with them again.”
Ian Fields, Business Development Manage at Recognise Bank, commented:
“We were more than happy to finance an experienced business which provides much-needed residential care facilities for children. Unlike with other lenders, at Recognise Bank we look at every aspect of the business case to create a bespoke solution to meet borrowers’ needs, and this deal highlights our approach perfectly.”
Recognise Bank was created to provide SMEs with digitally enabled, relationship-led banking, offering a range of unregulated lending options via a network of relationship managers across the UK. In addition, the Bank also offers personal savings accounts and business savings accounts. Six months after full authorisation the Bank hit a milestone of £100 million in lending and £95 million in savings deposits, and recently announced a fresh fundraise of £8.7 million in new capital, which will help drive its innovation activity and digital capability.
