Sol Zakay’s Topland Group is aiming to write a further £400m of loans this year as it looks to build its place as a major property lender.
The company holds a loan book totalling £750m after issuing £350m of loans during 2016. Repayments during the year totalled £120m.
With traditional lenders avoiding more high-risk financing, Topland is looking to provide bridging loans, joint venture development funding, seed capital for real estate-backed businesses and finance for strategic land plays.
Savills’ most recent Financing Property report in June last year revealed that four of the 28 big-ticket lenders in the market were alternative lenders – Blackstone, Starwood Capital, Rothesay Life and Cain Hoy. Insurers made up 32% of the market, with traditional UK clearing banks making up only 14%.
Topland is looking for deals ranging in size from £5m to £50m with a sweet spot of around £20m.
Last year Topland provided bridging and development loans on seven residential projects in central London as well as backing strategic land ventures totalling more than 4,000 acres in Scotland, Essex, Northumberland and Felixstowe.
It has been a major backer of Marick Real Estate, having committed more than £100m to the business. It financed Marick and Mill Land Estates’ development of a 220-bedroom modular Holiday Inn hotel in Trafford City, Manchester.
Zakay, executive chairman and chief executive, said: “The year 2016 was the most successful origination year in Topland Group’s history. Notable is the range of products and solutions the structured finance team was able to offer during what for many other providers is an era of conservative lending.
“We understand the assets against which we are lending and this, together with our private-firm ability to move quickly, makes us well-placed for finance, a position from which we anticipate growth.”
Aside from lending, Topland is looking to expand the value of its UK hotel portfolio to £1bn. It owns 40 hotels, 28 of which are directly operated under its Hallmark brand. It is looking to acquire branded and unbranded hotels in continental Europe and the Caribbean.
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