GRE Finance, a specialist lender to the UK real estate market, has hired two associate directors from Octopus Real Estate and Hilltop Credit Partners to capitalise on the surge of opportunities in the real estate finance market.

Clare Grimes has joined as an associate director from leading UK specialist real estate investor, Octopus Real Estate, where she specialised in the origination and execution of primarily commercial real estate debt transactions. Clare has gained extensive knowledge and experience through working with a range of clients, including funds, to deliver financing on a variety of assets across the UK. Clare is chair of the Association of Real Estate Funds’ Future Generation Committee, is a member of AREF’s management committee, is a chartered surveyor, and holds a master’s degree in Real Estate, Investment and Finance from Henley Business School.

Archie Dickinson, who also joins as an associate director, has more than 10 years of experience in real estate finance. Specialising in origination, underwriting and execution, past roles have seen him structuring and executing both senior and mezzanine development loans, working alongside high street lenders, challenger banks, institutional funds and HNWIs. Archie began his career at Proseed Capital, a mezzanine development finance lender before moving to specialist development finance provider, Hilltop Credit Partners. During his career Archie has underwritten and completed on over £750m of real estate finance.

Founded in 2020 by Michael Mirelman and Daniel Benton, GRE Finance is a specialist lender to the UK real estate market and currently holds a loan book of £110 million against residential and commercial property. Remaining active through the economic turbulence of 2023, it agreed several loans over the course of the year, including a £6 million acquisition loan against a student building in Portsmouth, a £4 million loan to MACC Care, a Midlands-based care home developer to acquire two sites with planning for new care homes, a £6 million loan to the UK’s leading retirement developer, Lifestory Group and a £17 million loan for a development finish and exit facility secured against residential development of 89 homes in Surrey.

Daniel Benton, director at GRE Finance, said: “The opportunities in the UK’s real estate debt markets today are vast, and the appointments of Clare and Archie to kick-off this year put us in prime position to seize what could be a once in a decade opportunity. We remained active through 2023, focusing on strategic asset management in the first half of the year before identifying market opportunities in the latter half and agreeing more than £30m in real estate financing. Our opportunistic and value-add approach, depth of expertise in property development and management as well as financing, and willingness to take on projects involving planning risk means that we are very well placed to support a range of transactions taking place in the market.”

Clare Grimes, associate director at GRE Finance, said: “Because of GRE Finance’s unique approach to real estate debt, taking on risk profiles that other lenders don’t have the expertise to support, it’s one of the most interesting firms out there. Given the economic climate we’re in, this is one of the most exciting times to join such an agile team. I’m really looking forward to leading origination efforts and working with Daniel, Michael, Archie and the rest of the team to navigate the choppy waters to drive real and attractive returns for all parties.”

LDS Sales Guarantees (LDS) has appointed Ben Jenkinson, former head of development finance products at Homes England, as its regional director for London and the South. He joins LDS at a time of fast growth, as its Sales Guarantee product continues to enable lenders to lend more and SME housebuilders to build more.

Ben joins LDS from Homes England, the Government’s housing accelerator, where he spent four years in senior roles, successfully delivering more than £2 billion of development finance joint ventures alongside both private and public sector partners. His background also includes through-cycle real estate finance experience at a senior level with Nationwide and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Ben has built up strong connections within the lending market over his twenty years in real estate finance. At LDS, he will work across the market to form alliances with quality lenders and capital providers – combining Sales Guarantees and development debt to harness the massive latent potential for SMEs to build more new homes.

“I love the product,” explained Ben. “It’s just what the market needs – a genuinely credible piece of innovation with a hugely important purpose – to help SMEs build more new homes.”

“As well as improving lenders’ credit profile, the Sales Guarantee releases cash to allow SMEs to build more and build quicker. This combination is powerful in even the most challenging market conditions – so we are going to be busy! I look forward to building a diverse and creative team to keep us innovating as we grow”.

Ben will be based in LDS’ new offices within the Shard Quarter, London Bridge and will immediately commence recruitment.

“Ben’s pedigree in development finance and product creation presents an ideal combination for LDS. Leading our operations in London and the South, he is already making a noticeable difference to the team; helping to bring our offering to more lenders as we continue to reframe the development finance landscape,” commented Mark Hawthorn, CEO at LDS Sales Guarantees.

Unique approach to solutions provision with unrivalled proposition from industry experts

A unique firm to assist businesses and help them prosper in the ‘new normal’ with an innovative approach to property and finance-based services has launched today. ARMCo is the brainchild of Birmingham-based business founder and investor Russell Martin, and combines specialist lending, corporate support, land procurement and development, and insurance services – catering for a rapidly evolving business landscape – to benefit clients with truly holistic and tailored solutions.

ARMCo is based in the heart of Birmingham’s finance district, where its HQ is the base from which the firm delivers its local, regional and national offering. It has a strong foundation: Russell formed Finance 4 Business, a specialist broker for finance transactions, 15 years ago – and used his experience, expertise and connections to form four further businesses which have grown strategically year on year, offering agile and integrated solutions to clients. With four new firms offering synergistic services added to the group, this forms the complete ARMCo offering.

Jon Preston has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer at ARMCo. Jon brings a wealth of experience, having worked at a UK-based lender which underwent a £26m MBO last year with Foresight Group, a leading independent infrastructure and private equity investment manager.

ARMCo founder Russell Martin explains: “We are living in uncertain times and a post-pandemic world looks very different for a lot of businesses. Overcoming challenges such as access to business finance, sourcing sector-based specialist risk and insurance solutions or navigating land procurement and development opportunities will have presented complexity before Covid, but the ‘new normal’ will be more challenging for many.

“The combination of expertise at ARMCo means we can deliver bespoke solutions for our clients to help them maximise growth opportunities and give them an exceptional experience. Our adept approach ensures that even the most complex of transactions are navigated with integrity, proficiency and pace. The combination of a human approach, passion and commitment of strong leaders and highly collaborative partnerships, combined with a central services approach, presents an unrivalled proposition in the UK – particularly with Jon at the helm, leading and propelling the group,” he added.

The ARMCo group comprises Finance 4 Business, Liquidity Club, Innovation 4 Business and  Walker Doble – as well as new firms Atlas Land & Planning, Midshore Partners, Chordis Capital and Cape Insurance. These are operated by industry experts Russell Martin, David Pinnington, David Totney, Philip Moore, Rebecca Doble, Marc Walker, James England and Rob Lankey and Henry Gallacher. The group offers expertise on financial solutions including asset, bridging and development finance, tax solutions and MBOs – helping SMEs in a range of sectors, property developers (including allied trades and professionals) and investors.

One such business benefitting from ARMCo’s expertise is Fitzpatrick Group Ltd – a housing delivery service provider with a requirement for finance provision to aid its expansion into a number of specialist sub sectors. The firm’s Managing Director, Mark Fitzpatrick, explains: “I have worked with Russell for more than a decade, initially through Finance 4 Business (F4B), through which I have had in excess of 25 loans arranged for me, across many disciplines and through a multitude of different lenders, from commercial mortgages, Buy-To-Let and bridging loans, to development and asset finance. The attention to detail, end-to-end service and dedication has been a staple feature of the service. 

“The evolution of ARMCo has seen the inception of some great businesses led by fantastic people, with whom I have transacted on many occasions, with great satisfaction and results. The launch of ARMCo makes absolute sense and I have no doubt Russell and his team will go from strength to strength.”

Russell concluded: “Success in any business involves being able to navigate a market, identify business opportunities and be agile enough to be able to plug gaps in the market. I have applied that formula to my businesses, and the ARMCo offering can now support businesses in realising their ambitions, as we all try to navigate our way through these turbulent times. We are a group of companies built on strong relationships, not transactions, and I’m delighted to have such robust and proven expertise on board at ARMCo. We have ambitious expansion plans, and will be adding more companies to provide further synergy within the group.” For further information about ARMCo visit www.ARMCo.partners

Property & Development Magazine

Accord Mortgages has confirmed that a selection of its fixed-rate mortgages have had their rates lowered by up to 0.3 per cent, which falls in line with the company’s aims to provide both brokers and borrowers with value for money within various different aspects of its services.

The new deals apply to the 65, 75, 80, 85 and 90 per cent loan-to-value range which affects remortgage and house purchase customers, and there is also a 1.79 per cent two-year fixed rate mortgage available to home buyers with a 25 per cent deposit and £250 cashback once completed, as well as free standard valuation and no upfront fee.

“These rate reductions are part of our ongoing commitment to offer borrowers and brokers value for money across a wide range of mortgages” commented David Robinson, the national intermediary sales manager at Accord. “We believe these changes provide borrowers with a choice of competitive options and will prove extremely popular with brokers.”

Accord is an intermediary-only lender and is part of the Yorkshire Building Society, and this announcement clearly shows the company’s intentions to maintain its success in a competitive industry by luring in customers with improved and tempting rates.

A 1.69 per cent rate is also available for two years at 75 per cent LTV for remortgage customers, which has no legal fees included and once again has no upfront fee and free standard valuation, and there are many other temptingly-low rates that Accord have released to the public.

Financial adviser Mike Pendergast, who works for Zen Financial Services in Cheshire, has said, “They are very competitive rates, particularly if they have no arrangement fee. Accord is generally competitive but they can be a bit slow on processing.”

So will these new reduced rates mean more growth and custom for Accord in the future? Only time will tell.

to provide both brokers and borrowers with value for money within various different aspects of its services.

The new deals apply to the 65, 75, 80, 85 and 90 per cent loan-to-value range which affects remortgage and house purchase customers, and there is also a 1.79 per cent two-year fixed rate mortgage available to home buyers with a 25 per cent deposit and £250 cashback once completed, as well as free standard valuation and no upfront fee.

“These rate reductions are part of our ongoing commitment to offer borrowers and brokers value for money across a wide range of mortgages” commented David Robinson, the national intermediary sales manager at Accord. “We believe these changes provide borrowers with a choice of competitive options and will prove extremely popular with brokers.”

Accord is an intermediary-only lender and is part of the Yorkshire Building Society, and this announcement clearly shows the company’s intentions to maintain its success in a competitive industry by luring in customers with improved and tempting rates.

A 1.69 per cent rate is also available for two years at 75 per cent LTV for remortgage customers, which has no legal fees included and once again has no upfront fee and free standard valuation, and there are many other temptingly-low rates that Accord have released to the public.

Financial adviser Mike Pendergast, who works for Zen Financial Services in Cheshire, has said, “They are very competitive rates, particularly if they have no arrangement fee. Accord is generally competitive but they can be a bit slow on processing.”

So will these new reduced rates mean more growth and custom for Accord in the future? Only time will tell.