HTB completes £16.9m care home development facility in six weeks

Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB) has completed a £16.9m development finance facility for New St Mary's Care Home Ltd, funding the acquisition and development of a 105-bed care facility in Stone, Staffordshire. The deal was introduced by Jeremy Robinson of Aquilae Capital and closed within six weeks of first engagement.

The 26-month facility covers two separate units at the St Dominic's Convent site: a 70-bed elderly care home and a 35-bed high-dependency unit.

The transaction came with a fixed completion deadline, and HTB's Development Finance team secured credit approval and coordinated with the borrower, broker and professional advisers to meet it. The acquisition added complexity: the site was being sold by the existing convent, and several boundary matters involving the church and surrounding land required resolution before the deal could complete.

The transaction was led for HTB by Mike Tierney, lending director, supported by David Hawker, relationship manager, and Scott Apps, business development manager. Stephanie Cullen at Glovers acted as solicitor, Kasia Glaz at Cushman & Wakefield as valuer, and Ben Murphy at Dalbergia as project monitoring surveyor.

"This was a transaction where certainty and pace really mattered," said Mike Tierney, lending director at Hampshire Trust Bank (pictured).

"The client came to us with a fixed deadline, so we needed to understand quickly what had to happen and be clear from the outset about what we could realistically deliver. Speed only matters if you understand the sector, make decisions quickly and are clear about what can actually be delivered.

"Our knowledge of the care market was important because there were a number of issues around the site and wider transaction that needed to be worked through. We kept everyone close throughout, with regular calls across the borrower, broker and professional team, so issues could be dealt with as they arose. That focus meant we were able to get from first engagement to completion in six weeks."

Jeremy Robinson, director at Aquilae Capital, added, "Clearly, we are operating in a difficult market, with challenging conditions across both construction and funding. We were able to use our experience to work through the issues as they arose, while HTB took the time to fully understand the development and worked closely with us and the client to ensure the transaction was delivered on a timely basis.

"We look forward to continuing to work with this client, both on this site and on further transactions already in the pipeline, having demonstrated the value that experienced advice and the right lending partnership can bring."

Mariano Cavaleri, director of New St Mary's Care Home Ltd, said, "We are most grateful to HTB, Aquilae Capital, Ramsdens, Glovers, Cushman & Wakefield and Dalbergia, and each individual involved, for their in-depth knowledge of the care market and understanding of multifaceted transactions. We greatly value how everybody worked collaboratively in record time to achieve this extraordinary result."