Commercial Property Development Finance in March

Funding the capital stack on a March development

We arrange the whole capital structure for March commercial schemes. Senior development finance funds the bulk of the build, typically to 65 to 70 percent of cost and 60 to 65 percent of gross development value. Stretch senior and mezzanine finance lift leverage when the appraisal supports it, reducing the equity you commit. JV equity fills the remaining gap for developers scaling beyond their own balance sheet. For operational schemes that let up or trade after completion, such as student accommodation, care homes, hotels or self-storage, stabilisation finance carries the asset from practical completion through to stabilised income. Once the scheme is stabilised or sold, development exit finance refinances it onto cheaper money while units sell or let, releasing equity for the next site in Cambridgeshire.

The commercial sectors we fund in March

Each commercial asset class is underwritten on different tests by different lenders, and we arrange finance for all of them in March and across Cambridgeshire. That covers student accommodation and offices, warehouses and logistics, care homes and healthcare, retail, hotels and leisure, industrial and mixed-use schemes, and the higher-growth classes of self-storage, data centres and life sciences. Knowing which lender backs which sector here, and at what leverage, is the work we do before a scheme ever reaches a credit committee.

Residential market depth as exit context

Residential sold-price depth is one input a development lender uses to gauge exit liquidity, particularly for the residential element of mixed-use, build-to-rent and conversion schemes. March recorded around 367 residential sales over the past year at a median of £230,000, which makes the local market thinner but functional. New-build stock carries a premium of 9% over existing stock here. Commercial values turn on covenant, yield and sector demand, which we assess scheme by scheme.

This residential mix is exit context for the homes within a mixed-use or conversion scheme. It is not a guide to commercial values, which are sector and covenant driven.