London's Blend appoints new Belfast lending manager

Specialist real estate development finance lender Blend has renewed its commitment to supporting mid-size property developers in Northern Ireland.

It follows its recent funding of schemes in Lisburn, Holywood, Dundonald, Bangor, Derrycrin, Omagh, Ballinderry and Limavady.

And it comes as Blend confirmed the appointment of Philip Anderson, formerly of Allied Irish Bank, as its Northern Ireland lending manager based in Belfast.

The announcement comes at an exciting time for the business and follows Blend ’s appointment of Philip Anderson, previously at Allied Irish Bank, as Northern Ireland lending manager based in Belfast.

Specialist real estate development finance lender Blend has funded several new major housing schemes in Lisburn, Holywood, Dundonald, Bangor, Derrycrin, Omagh, Ballinderry and Limavady

Over the past few months, the London-based firm Blend has also welcomed a team of senior bankers and credit specialists to its lending team. Duncan Armstrong, portfolio asset manager, Claire McGirr, head of portfolio management, David Alcock, managing director, Will Powell, lending director, Chris Mason, lending director and Chris Hope, senior portfolio asset manager.

The Blend team possess a strong local presence in Northern Ireland, as well as a deep knowledge and expertise of the local market to better understand the funding needs of housebuilders and support them accordingly.

Blend’s renewed pledge comes at a crucial time for Northern Irish SME housebuilders and reinforces the company’s position as a committed lender to mid-size Northern Irish housebuilders. While the Northern Irish housing market has continued to push higher in recent months despite growing concerns around the cost-of-living crisis, funding has historically been a key challenge for Northern

Irish housebuilders. This challenge worsened sharply during the pandemic and now as a result of the looming recession.

Last year, Northern Ireland saw a 5.5% house price increase, above the 4.8% UK-average and well above the house price increase in London and the South West. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, the price of existing housing stock in Northern Ireland has rocketed by a fourth.

One of the reasons for such strength of the housing market is the persistent lack of supply. Northern Ireland has consistently missed on its annual housing build targets over the past few years.

Last year, the former Minister for Communities Deirdre Hargey spoke of the need to deliver 100,000 homes over a 15-year period to 2037, which equates to just under 7,000 new homes per year.

However, in the decade from 2010 to 2020, the average annual number of private-owner housing completions in Northern Ireland was 5,336 and the average annual number of social-development housing completions was 954, both largely below the targets. In the first 9 months of last year, the total number of new housing completions plummeted to 4,934 units and is expected to further slow.

Land and Property Services data on new dwelling completions suggests that between 2008 and 2019, a deficit of 27,000 new homes was accumulated, equal to three years’ worth of housebuilding target.

Planning challenges and lack of sufficient funding are the two primary reasons for the lack of supply.

Blend is determined to support Northern Irish SME housebuilders tackle the funding challenge.

Jonathan Millar, managing director of Colliers Belfast, said: “For a number of reasons, including the lack of availability of funding, especially for SME property developers Northern Ireland, and Belfast in particular, has witnessed a historical pressure on its housing supply stock. This lack of housing supply will continue to maintain an upward pressure on house prices. The Northern Irish housing market has remained incredibly resilient over the past year, and compared to pre-pandemic levels, the price of existing housing stock in Northern Ireland has increased far above the price increments seen across any other UK region.”

Ajay Sharma, commercial finance director NI & ROI, explained: “The Northern Irish housing market has continued to push higher in recent months despite the growing concerns around the cost-of-living, but access to funding remains difficult for housebuilders, especially mid-size developers. We were pleased that BLEND were able to support our client, an experienced property developer with a track-record of delivering quality houses in Northern Ireland. Through their proactive and solution-focused approach, BLEND demonstrated a commitment to supporting housebuilders in Northern Ireland.

"Blend’s process was highly transparent, and they were a pleasure to work with. We look forward to working with them on more residential schemes across our region.”

Philip Anderson, Northern Ireland lending manager at Blend, continued: “At Blend, we have long been an active development finance lender to Northern Irish property developers, supporting developers across the region access the funding they need to build more houses. Since 2018, we have funded countless residential development schemes across Northern Ireland in areas such as Hillsborough, Lisburn, Holywood, Dundonald, Bangor, Omagh and Limavady.”

Yann Murciano, CEO at Blend, added: “At Blend we understand the historical pressure of housing supply in Northern Ireland and the lack of funding in the region. That's why since 2018 we've been backing Northern Irish SME developers and working with local partners to support regional housebuilders. Since then, we've funded countless developers across Northern Ireland and are proud to have been part of their success and that of their local communities. So, whether you've heard of us but we’ve never spoken with you and you’re worried your existing lender is going to let you down so are exploring your options, or whether you’re feeling positive that now’s the right time to invest and want to ensure you have the capital to opportunistically do this, get in touch and we’ll see if we can help.”