Commercial
What we do
How we're structured
The roles we recruit for most often
What we look for
Your career prospects
Where you’d work
What we do
Need flexible finance to buy or refinance a retail, office, industrial, leisure or residential property? Our Commercial Division provides it.
We help customers big and small with loans ranging from £250k to over £300 million.
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How we're structured
Commercial Account Administration provides a robust support platform to give all our business areas a competitive advantage. It does so by –
- managing processes, systems and technology to support the change and operational risk agendas
- adding value through high specification, customised loan servicing solutions on £12 billion of the Division's assets.
It can fund property acquisitions in every corner of Britain as well as several countries on the continent.
Here, a range of specialist teams support the wider Division.
- Syndications – helps look after the balance sheet by managing large transactions and key relationships. This involves distributing debt to other financial organisations both to spread risk and enhance return.
- The European Lending Team – guides international lending activity, supporting the Origination teams when deals relate to properties on the Continent. As the Division's hub of European expertise, it spearheads ongoing research activity and helps develop strategy.
- Marketing & Communications – also sits within Distribution & Strategy and manages both our internal and external profile. Marketing activity is focused on advertising, PR, literature, promotional events and the internet. Our communications strategy makes sure we share information effectively across the Division.
- Strategy & Planning – leads the research and development of the Division's business strategy. It helps evolve the business, coordinating planning, product development and portfolio management activity.
Our Housing Finance team lends to affordable housing providers who can then build, buy and improve properties to rent at affordable rates. We’ve been lending to this sector for almost 50 years and our credentials are impressive.
- We’re the UK's number one lender in the affordable housing market with over £8 billion of commitments.
- We’re the leading funder of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs).
- We’re experts in finance packages that enable large-scale voluntary transfers of local authority housing to new RSLs.
Property Finance offers loans to buy or refinance residential and commercial property. In-depth expertise, local knowledge and accessibility give it a real edge in the marketplace. It has –
- ten Key Business Centres across the UK
- one regional centre
- 7,500 customers
- an experienced network of Lending Managers
Loans start from £250,000.
Specialist Lending Services provides technical and expert support in a number of specialist areas.
- Two Recoveries and Intensive Care teams (one for the north and one for the south) manage our relationship with borrowers having difficulty with their repayments. The teams negotiate restructuring and where necessary take steps to recover the loan.
- The Loan Documentation Team helps structure complex transactions, on legal matters and to negotiate large loan agreements (typically of £20+ million).
This team of highly experienced Lending Managers is known for innovative funding solutions. With a high profile in the 'large ticket' loan market (loans are usually £75+ million), the team develops new business and existing relationships.
Its client base includes –
- institutional and private funds
- quoted property companies
- large private property groups
- active private finance initiative (PFI) consortia.
Lending activity is diverse and covers –
- PFI/PPP deals
- Corporate Acquisition Finance
- complex property transactions
- taking part in loans arranged by other lenders.
The Team is split into four key areas.
- Structured Property Finance London
- Structured Property Finance Northampton
- Project Finance - PFI/PPP
- Loan Participations
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The roles we recruit for most often
Lending Manager
You’ll manage new lending transactions to completion. This includes managing the relationship on substantial, complex commercial property and/or cashflow-based loans.
Senior Lending Manager
You’ll boost the Division’s profits by originating complex, high-value commercial transactions. In the process you’ll make the most of your specialist, multi-disciplinary knowledge and exercise robust control over all the documentation and due diligence processes.
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What we look for
Lending Managers
You’ll need lending experience in a commercial environment covering structuring, negotiation and documentation. And you’ll have shown you have the skills to negotiate, build relationships and explain funding structures to technical and non-technical audiences alike. Specifically you’ll know about –
- the dynamics of the UK property market and its sub-sectors
- competitor lender profiles/appetites
- different investor return objectives and their impact on behaviour
- property valuation principles
- legal and taxation frameworks
- Loan Market Standards including regulatory issues
- Treasury products
- credit and jurisdictional risk
- the UK project finance market and, in particular, the education, health and accommodation sectors.
Senior Lending Managers
You’ll have shown you can handle intricate, high-level negotiations and present complex, innovative funding structures to technical and non-technical audiences alike. We’ll also look for the interpersonal skills to build strong internal and external relationships.
On top of this, you’ll have experience of property, social housing, corporate, acquisition and project finance lending. This will include structuring the negotiation and documentation of –
- Public and Private Limited Company Acquisition
- Management and Leveraged Buyouts
- Senior and Mezzanine Debt Funding
- Large Property Portfolio Purchases
- Sale and Leaseback transactions
- Syndicated Loan Underwriting
- Project Finance (PFI/Public Private Partnership - PPP).
As well as the same knowledge we look for in a Lending Manager, you’ll need a specialised understanding of –
- the dynamics of the PFI/PPP market and contractual arrangements
- the funding requirements and risk profile of Special Purchase Vehicles (SPVs)
- the construction and facility management processes, their risk profiles and contractual structures
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Your career prospects
There are lots of opportunities to move on and up both within the Division and across other parts of the Group.
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Where you'd work
Commercial teams work all over the country including –
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Cardiff
- Colchester
- Exeter
- Glasgow
- Leeds
- Manchester
- Newcastle
- Northampton
- Sevenoaks
- Swindon
- Twickenham
- Waltham Cross
Commercial Account Administration is mainly based in our Northampton Head Office. Property Finance has 14 offices across the UK.
Structured Property Finance has offices in Hogarth House and Northampton.
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