Residential mortgage for £20m Surrey home owned via overseas company with complex self employed income

The Scenario

Our client approached us looking to purchase a beautiful, grand surrey home valued at more than £20m.

They had a complex and intricate income portfolio, operating a network of overseas companies across multiple jurisdictions.

They also wanted to own their property through their overseas company and were willing to put down a deposit of 35% towards their purchase.

The size, ownership structure, and complicated income sources threw up several obstacles in this case:

• Our clients’ self-employed income via multiple international sources needed a comprehensive and bespoke analysis, which many lenders aren’t equipped for.
  
  
• There is a narrower appetite for single, high-value assets like our client’s property in the property finance market. This is due to lower demand and extended sales periods for ultra-high net worth properties, rendering them reasonably illiquid compared to standard residential homes. They, therefore, represent a greater risk from a bank’s perspective.
  
  
• Our client wanted to own their property via their overseas company, which complicates the process due to the legal administration.
  
  
• The market appetite for this loan size is a 50% deposit, and we wanted to provide our client with a more attractive loan to value ratio.

The Solution

We started by reassuring our client we have the ability, expertise and trusted relationships to secure an appropriate large mortgage finance solution for their aspirations.

We then spoke to multiple lenders and private banks to determine the best approach for this case, eventually settling on our first recommendation.

We focused on the importance of investing time into our initial conversations with each lender, as lending criteria for foreign jurisdictions can fluctuate in line with internal appetite and the risk profile of each country involved.

Our broker secured a bespoke mortgage that accounted for all of our clients’ needs:

• 65% loan to value mortgage - 15% higher than the market norm for properties of this value.
• An interest-only mortgage with annual capital reductions fits our clients’ repayment preferences.
• Offered flexibility on the term length, with interest rates ranging from 2% to 2.5%.
• Facilitated ownership through their overseas company.
• Understood and accepted our clients’ self-employed overseas income structure.

From the offer agreed to completion, the process took around two months, which we were thrilled with considering the case's complexity.

The bottom line...

Without speaking to Clifton Private Finance, our client wouldn’t have known the best lenders to begin conversations with.

In addition, high value, complex cases like this require an existing relationship with lenders to ensure fluid and efficient communication between all parties throughout the process. 

It’s also important to remember that we’re always keen to review and start the process with you, even if you haven't identified a property yet. Every situation is unique and can require unexpected legwork to obtain approval.

The earlier you set the ball in motion, the quicker we can help iron out the issues and secure your property finance as soon as you make your offer.