- Additional focus on Northern Ireland commercial property
- New fund will help deal with shortage of finance amongst UK businesses
Ortus Secured Finance, the London-based commercial lender, has raised a new fund to lend £40 million to businesses across the UK, with a particular focus on both the UK leisure sector and Northern Irish commercial property space.
The fund will specialise in lending to pubs, hotels and nightclubs across the UK which require short-term finance, for instance to help them cover costs incurred through sudden spikes in demand, or for bridging loans to provide interim capital while they re-finance.
The fund will have an additional focus on commercial property in Northern Ireland, where Ortus Secured Finance first launched operations at the end of last year, with the refinancing of a very substantial property portfolio in Belfast.
Richard Beenstock, CEO at Ortus Secured Finance, says: “This new fund will help bridge the lending gap in what has remained a very underserved part of the market since the credit crunch. Many UK leisure businesses are still struggling to secure the funding they need from traditional high street banks.”
“The leisure industry, from pubs to restaurants, is going through a period of rapid change and those operators that cannot secure competitive finance are going to be at a substantial disadvantage. Customers’ expectations are such that if a business in this sector cannot make the capital investment they need to then their trade will suffer.”
“Commercial property across Northern Ireland will be another key focus. We are one of the few lenders who have a strong appetite to lend to there, but we believe there are plenty of good opportunities to provide finance.”
“The Northern Irish economy is performing well and its recovery is well underway. It may be a few steps behind some other areas of the UK but there is plenty of room for further economic growth.”
Ortus Secured Finance was launched in 2013 by former executives of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander and is focused on short term secured lending across the leisure sector, specifically to pubs, bars and hotels. It also works across the commercial and residential property investment sectors.
Ortus Secured Finance provides finance for a wide range of funding requirements in the leisure sector, including:
- Pub owners who want to invest in kitchen equipment to improve their food offering or enter the ‘gastropub’ market
- Established pub managers looking to acquire their first pub
- People entering pub ownership as a post-retirement lifestyle
- Purchases and extensions of hotels, guesthouses and nightclubs
- Refurbishment of pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants including furnishings, lighting, payment systems, and workstations
Investors in the fund include institutional investors, family offices and High Net Worths, from both the UK and overseas.
Adds Richard Beenstock: “Leisure businesses often require short-term, short-notice borrowing to enable them to capitalise on new business opportunities. More traditional, longer-term loans might not be a viable option – or may take too long to secure.”
“Getting the right lending at the right time remains crucial if businesses are to reach their potential, but this can take months to access via traditional banking routes.”
Richard Beenstock – CEO
Co-founder and CEO, Richard Beenstock, has over ten years’ experience in the finance sector. After qualifying as an accountant at Deloitte, he joined major international Icelandic bank, Kaupthing in 2004. He then went on to act as Vice President of international investment company Stodir between 2006 and 2009.
Richard co-founded corporate finance boutique, Ortus Capital in 2009, which offers advisory services and assistance with funding arrangements. In order to meet the demand for finance created by the continued difficulties many businesses were facing in obtaining traditional funding from high street banks, he co-founded Ortus Secured Finance in 2013.
Jon Salisbury – Managing Director
Managing Director, Jon Salisbury similarly has over ten years’ experience in the finance sector. After training at the Bank of Scotland between 1999 and 2001, he worked in the Trade Finance and Private Banking teams of merchant bank, Singer & Friedlander until 2004. He went on to act as a Director following the bank’s merger with Kaupthing between 2006 and 2011.
Jon went on to act as Director of Singer & Friedlander Asset Management LLP in 2012, before joining Ortus Secured Finance in 2013.