Secured Lending
Property Finance
Property Finance requires quick and efficient commercial advice. We act for property and business owners seeking various forms of funding from traditional banks and short-term lenders.
Development Finance
Development Finance transactions rely on speed and technical expertise. We have a wealth of experience dealing with a vast range of lenders and a reputation for getting the deal done.
Islamic Finance
Islamic Finance is a Shari’ah-compliant form of property funding, keeping within the moral principles of Islam. We offer a complex made simple approach to this specialist finance product.
Like all lenders we had a panel of solicitors, however the efficiencies displayed by PLS over the rest of the panel grew to such an extent that we had repeat borrowers expressly asking that we use PLS on deals.
Mark Copson
Featured Case Study
PLS secures the right result for a major high value development finance case in central London
This case was monumental in that it set the precedent for this Lender in how they approach development finance deals. The previous process in place was outdated in that it was better suited for smaller scale developments with less conditions precedents on the Developer to obtain the necessary construction documentation.
It is common to experience resistance, mostly from the Developer and the professional team, to provide the right construction documentation where required. If not completed in advance of the deal coming to us it can cause delays whilst the documents are drafted, which was demonstrated in this case. However, due to the high-risk nature of development finance it is important we maintain a balance of speed and mitigation of risk for all parties.
As this was a high value development with a professional team consisting of several different legal entities, we had to consider the contractual relationships between all parties involved in the build and adopt a risk averse approach to ensure the Lender had sufficient means to ‘step-in’ if the Developer became insolvent.
In a scenario where the Developer (or Borrower) falls away and is unable to complete the build, the Lender must have a sufficient contractual link to the professional team, so they are able to enforce any outstanding liabilities under construction documentation to ensure the build is finished where the Developer is not able to complete the build themselves.
Our advice differed somewhat form the Quantity Surveyor (QS) which caused a great deal of friction during the transaction. Our advice consisted of a detailed report on the reasons for obtaining a suitable JCT, Appointments and Collateral Warranties for the main contractor and sub-contractors followed by an urgent conference call with the Lender, the Developer and the QS to explain our advice in greater detail.
As a result of our risk averse approach and expertise, we received the “lions share” of this particular Lender’s development finance work due to increased confidence in our ability to ensure the Lender’s and Developer’s security is our primary concern, whilst putting precedents in place to ensure a smoother journey for future Developers.
“It is important for our clients to trust the advice we give them and in this transaction, it proved how critical our expertise was to the success of a case.”
– Kieran de Vares, Associate Director
“PLS is now our trusted advisor for all development finance deals – anything between £1-20million”
Banks we work with
The Perfect Match
PLS has the infrastructure, technology and scale needed to provide fast, efficient and hands-on legal advice to lenders and developers. We act nationally for many bridging and specialist lenders like Islamic Finance. We are also on many major high street bank panels. Lenders trust us as we have highly secure checking procedures that are integrated with the latest technology from title checks to anti-money laundering.
“Just bought our first home using PLS Solicitors, I highly recommend and will be doing so to all my family and friends! The online portal makes life so much easier being able to upload documents on your phone, track where you are up to and know what will happen next!” Aisha #firsttimebuyer
Career in Secured Lending?
PLS is a great place to work and we are always looking for new talent to add to our team of experts.