Castle Trust
Castle Trust, which was founded in 2012, is regulated by the FCA and is a principle lender able to assist with all kinds of property projects based in England and Wales.
Castle Trust provides second charge loans for buy to let, business purpose and high net worth, with the option to roll up interest to help manage cashflow. It also has a Refurb to Let product to fund light refurbishment and a specialist Development Finance team, providing loans up to 70% gross development value and up to 90% loan to cost, as well as mezzanine finance.
- Minimum Age
- 21
- Loan Value Available
- £15,000 to £10 million
- Loan Length
- Up to 24 months (up to 5 years for second charges)
- Typical Time to Fund
- 2 weeks
- Interest Rates
- Upon request
- Credit Check
- Yes
- Other Information
- Max. LTV 75% (refurb to let), LTV 80% (second charge)
- FCA License Number
- 541910
- Direct Lender
- FCA Authorised
- Secured Loan
Get a Quote
Octagon Capital
3-4 Holborn Circus,
Holborn, London
EC1N 2HA
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday
9:00 am to 18:00 pm
Call us today 0333 414 1491
Company Information
Address: Tower 42, 25 Old Broad St, London EC2N 1HQ
Countries they operate: No geographical limitations within England and Wales
Company no: 07454474
FCA authorisation number: 541910
Overview
Loan Value Available
Second charge and Refurb to Let: £15,000 to £10 million
Development Finance: £2.5 million to £7.5 million
Mezzanine Finance: £1m to £5m
Loan Length
Second charge: Up to 5 years, up to 80% loan to value
Refurb to Let: 12 months, up to 75% loan to value
Development and Mezzanine Finance: Up to 24 months, up to 70% gross development value and up to 90% loan to cost
What Do Castle Trust Offer For Second Charge Loans?
Normal lending limits
- Up to 80% loan to value
- Loans from £15,000 to £10m
- Loan terms from 12 months to 5 years
Castle Trust provides first and second charge loans for buy to let customers and second charge loans for owner occupier customers who are either raising capital for business purpose or meet the FCA definition of high net worth.
Loan terms are between 12 months and 5 years and customers have the choice to roll up some, or all, of the interest, which can help in managing cashflow. Any interest that is rolled up is payable upon redemption of the loan.
What Do Castle Trust Offer For Light Refurbishment Loans?
Normal lending limits
- Up to 75% loan to value
- Loans from £15,000 to £10m
- Loan term 12 months
The Castle Trust Refurb to Let product is perfect for landlords who want to maximise rental value and increase capital growth by upgrading their property. This can include a new kitchen, bathroom, redecoration, re-wiring, or any other light refurbishment that doesn’t require building regulations or planning permission.
The loan term on Castle Trust’s Refurb to Let product is 12 months and interest is rolled up over the term for payment on redemption of the loan.
What Do Castle Trust Offer For Development Finance?
Castle Trust specialises in heavy refurbishments and ground up developments. The heavy refurbs refer to things like turning a house into flats, developing a block of houses or flats, renovating a commercial property such as an office or store. With their loans starting at £2 million and lasting for around 24 months, it needs to be a substantial refurbishment. The ground developments can be a basic plot of land which is completely empty and building this up into a house, flats or commercial building.
The firm offers a Gross Development Value of up to 70% which is higher than some of its competitors. This is the potential value of the development once it has been fully completed and will be sold on the open market. It incorporates things like land and construction costs and the eventual value of the estate.
Their website explains that all loans are taken out by way of first charge. This is the first priority when it comes to making any mortgage repayments and since there are no other priorities in its way, it usually maximises the amount you can borrow and the minimises the deposit you need to put down. Customers are expected to put their equity down from day one – so you are required to deposit at least 30% of the value of the development when your loan is funded.
The interest rate charges is fixed, so it will not change during the loan term. The interest is calculated daily and compounded monthly. It can be rolled up into the redemption of the loan, so you can repay when you intend to exit the development property such as a sale of the project.
What Do Castle Trust Offer For Mezzanine Finance?
Castle Trust refer to this as ‘Mezz Finance’ and the idea is that for riskier projects, customers are able to borrow more but will need to give away some more equity. For the lender, like Castle Trust, they are able to lend more and by taking on more risk, able to maximise their return on investment.
Their website explains:
Mezz is subordinated debt, typically second charge, ranking behind the senior debt. Mezz is normally deployed ahead of senior and gets repaid after the senior is redeemed.
Due to the complex nature of mezzanine finance, the company review each one on a case-by-case basis, typically offering finance on the following:
- New builds
- Land with planning permission
- Heavy refurbishment / extensions
- Commercial to residential conversions
- Purpose built student accommodation