Gloucester-based Blackfinch Property completes £2.3m development loan for sustainable housing in Worcestershire

By Nicky Godding

12 May 2023

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Blackfinch Property, a rapidly growing lender to the UK property market, has provided £2.3 million funding to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of Dunedin Homes to develop seven new homes in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, each fitted with environmentally friendly features.

Under the terms of the 22-month deal Blackfinch Property (via its property development company, Lyell Trading Limited) - part of investment manager Blackfinch Group - will fund the land acquisition and the construction of seven detached two, three, and four-bedroom homes, exiting the deal once all homes have been sold.

Blackfinch Property screens all investment opportunities against the delivery of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria. Each house being built by Dunedin Homes will be fitted with vehicle charging points, solar panels and a bio-disc treatment plant. Each boundary will also be planted to achieve biodiverse ecology and the dwellings are expected to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate Rating B.

John Hartigan, Investment Director at Blackfinch Property, said: “This is another excellent development by a very experienced developer, who has worked with us on their projects for several years now. Our in-house legal team worked with our external lawyers and the borrower’s solicitors to successfully clarify a complex planning query very quickly.”

He continued: “For the purposes of the deal, the developer had exchanged contracts to purchase the property, so all parties and their legal advisers worked very closely to ensure a smooth and on-time completion. It was an attractive deal for Blackfinch, well-structured with a £4.6m Gross Development Value.”

David Kelly, a Director of Dunedin Homes, added: “From the Developers perspective, we feel very fortunate to have worked with Lyell and Blackfinch on several projects now, something we feel helps and assists our business in terms of ‘knowing you - knowing us’. I’m sure this gives confidence to both sides to work within the sometimes-tricky parameters of development finance.”

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.