Prime property lender CapitalRise makes largest-ever loan

SPECIALIST property lending platform CapitalRise has made its largest loan to date to finance the redevelopment of a £50m prime property in London’s Holland Park.

The project will see CapitalRise underwrite a development loan totalling £6.9m, with the funds being used for ongoing construction and to refinance an existing lender.

The 13,500 square foot, five-bedroom detached villa is located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and features an underground swimming pool, gym, bowling alley and cinema. It is expected to be completed in summer 2019.

Since launching in 2016, CapitalRise has lent against over £270m of prime residential assets in Mayfair, Knightsbridge and the Home Counties. Investments redeemed to date have delivered an average return of over 9.5 per cent per year, with close to £5m paid back from exited investments, the firm says.

With a minimum investment of £1,000, CapitalRise says its investment opportunities so far have been oversubscribed, and its member base has increased twofold in the last 12 months.

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“Prime is a market that we have longstanding experience of, on both the lending and development sides, allowing us to lend prudently and navigate any stage of the property cycle to find profitable opportunities,” said Uma Rajah, co-founder and chief executive.

“Over the coming year we plan to build on this momentum and achieve further growth through writing increasingly bigger-ticket loans, responding to clear investor appetite for more access to the asset class, whilst ensuring we never compromise on the quality of properties we lend against so that we can maintain our impressive performance of returns.”

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