FRP Real Estate Advisory has arranged a £1.1 million refinance on a completed office-to-residential conversion in Reading, spanning four lenders and seven separate leases. The transaction will fund the client’s next conversion project in the South East.
The deal was structured at 75% loan-to-value, with MT Finance and Landbay among the four participating lenders. The property was divided into seven leases: six residential units and one ground-floor commercial unit, with the freehold retained in a holding entity. All four facilities completed simultaneously.
Project background
The client, a property refurbishment contractor, self-funded the conversion of a former hairdresser’s premises with office space above, completing the scheme earlier this year. The refinance was led by Gareth Briggs, associate director at FRP Real Estate Advisory, who had previously advised the same client on an earlier transaction. Legal support was provided by Jury O’Shea LLP.
Office conversion sector context
The transaction reflects ongoing activity in the office-to-residential sector, though conversion volumes have declined in recent years. Conversions under permitted development rights delivered 5,154 new homes in England in 2024-25, according to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government data. Completion volumes have fallen steadily since 2020 as the most readily convertible office stock is absorbed.
The structuring challenges extended beyond typical UK property transactions, requiring coordination across multiple lenders with individual requirements. “Coordinating four lenders across seven leases so everything was completed on the same day was a genuine structuring challenge, and it took real patience from everyone involved to get there,” said Briggs.
“Each lender had its own requirements, so aligning the leases, the freehold structure and the timing took some careful planning behind the scenes,” he added.
The refinance demonstrates the complexity of multi-lender arrangements in the conversion sector, where individual lender criteria must be satisfied while maintaining coordinated completion timelines. The structure allowed the contractor to release equity from the completed Reading project to fund further development activity in the region.
