Mercantile Trust has completed its first ever bridging case in Northern Ireland.

The case was introduced to the specialist bridging, buy-to-let (BTL) and commercial lender by second charge mortgage packager and broker, the Loans Engine.

A client had required an unregulated bridging loan on a BTL investment property which was worth £200,000 and had a current mortgage balance of £92,000. The borrower wanted to raise £46,500 to gift to their parents to help them finish a property development.

As the property was located in Northern Ireland and the required loan size was below £50,000, the number of lenders available was extremely limited.

However, Mercantile Trust could help the borrower as their requirements fitted its lending criteria, which extended to Northern Ireland in September of this year.

The lender offered a second charge bridging loan for a 12-month term, with the interest rolled up to negate the need for monthly repayments, at a rate of 1.1% per month with no early repayment charges (ERCs) applicable. The client was able to obtain a gross LTV of 70% even though it was a second charge loan.

Head of unregulated mortgage broking at the Loans Engine, Steve Nobbs, commented: “The original introducer was unable to find any solutions for their client, until they approached the Loans Engine. From our perspective, Mercantile Trust was slick, quick to react and kept us fully in the loop, which has always been our experience with them.

“After how smoothly and successfully this case went, the introducer has now secured the client for future investment purchases and refurbishment projects. He was particularly impressed with the process from both the Loans Engine and Mercantile Trust.”

Director of commercial operations at Mercantile Trust, Maeve Ward, added: “Our expansion into Northern Ireland after the summer was very important to us as we wanted to be able to offer provide brokers in the area with choice and opportunity to write more business and better service the short-term needs of their clients.

“Having worked with the Loans Engine before, we knew they would provide all of the information required in a timely fashion in order for us to assess the case. Whilst it wouldn’t fit the criteria of many a bridging lender, Mercantile Trust is dedicated to offering flexible solutions, such as lower loan amounts and second charge options, and so could offer the borrower the amount they wanted.

“We have other Northern Ireland applications in the pipeline and look forward to working with other brokers operating in the region.”

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