Case Spotlight | What We’re Working On This Week
The Client
The owner of a substantial residential property in the United States, currently valued at approximately $60 million, with a strong, multi-layered trust structure sitting behind the client’s wider wealth and asset position.
The Challenge
The client required $19 million of financing to refinance existing debt secured against the property while also providing additional capital to fund the final stages of an extensive renovation.
The property presented an interesting financing proposition. In addition to its significant value, it is located in a state where the residence can be retained and used as a single substantial home or divided into multiple properties, creating flexibility around its future use and potential exit strategy.
The client’s wider financial position was underpinned by a robust layered trust structure. While this provided considerable strength to the overall proposition, it also meant the ownership, underlying wealth and availability of capital needed to be clearly presented to prospective lenders.
The requirement was therefore not simply to refinance the existing debt. It was to identify a lender capable of understanding a high-value US residential asset, the remaining renovation programme and the sophisticated wealth structure sitting behind the client.
Our Approach
We approached the requirement by considering the property, borrowing requirement and wider client structure collectively.
This involved presenting the strength of the underlying asset, the work completed to date and the capital required to finish the renovation, alongside the client’s wider trust and asset position.
The property’s flexibility was also an important consideration. Its ability to remain as one substantial residence or potentially be divided into multiple properties provides the client with different options for the asset over the longer term.
A key part of our role was therefore identifying a lender comfortable not only with the size and nature of the transaction, but also with interpreting the more sophisticated ownership and wealth structures supporting it.
The Solution
A $19 million refinancing facility is being structured against the property, allowing the client to refinance the existing debt while providing additional capital towards the final stages of the renovation.
Against an estimated property value of approximately $60 million, the financing represents a relatively conservative level of leverage while providing the liquidity required to progress the project towards completion.
The Outcome
The proposed structure will allow the client to refinance the existing borrowing and support the remaining renovation works within a single financing strategy.
Importantly, it also preserves flexibility around the property’s longer-term use. Once completed, the client can retain the asset as one substantial residence or explore dividing it into multiple properties, subject to the relevant requirements.
This case demonstrates why financing high-value international property often requires consideration beyond the asset itself. Ownership structures, underlying wealth, existing borrowing, remaining capital expenditure and potential future use can all influence how a lender assesses a transaction.
By presenting those elements as part of one coherent financial picture, the objective is to secure a structure that addresses the immediate refinancing requirement while preserving the client’s flexibility for the future.
This Case Spotlight is illustrative. Details may have been anonymised, simplified or altered where necessary and should not be taken as describing the complete circumstances of any individual client or transaction.
This content is for general information only and does not constitute personal financial, investment, legal or tax advice. Valuations, lending values, pricing, fees, leverage and security requirements are indicative only and remain subject to lender assessment, independent valuation, asset composition, due diligence, credit approval and market conditions.
