Sitio Homes

Find out why Shawn thinks the Brickflow platform is a ‘phenomenal service’ that secured him a better development finance deal than he’d been offered, with a lower deposit and interest rate.

The Client

Sitio Homes is a leading developer of green building conversions in London and the Home Counties..

The Challenge

Sitio Homes needed finance to develop a property in Camden, North London. The property was a mixed use scheme, with a commercial ground floor and some residential uppers. The borrower planned to demolish the existing building, and rebuild, extending both the footprint and the height of the original building to create more residential space. The developer tried to find their own lending solution, but had come up short – their best offer required £100k more equity than they wanted to commit to the project.

Sitio Homes was close to losing the transaction because of its equity shortfall.

“Working with Brickflow has been very good for us. It’s helped us see all the options in one place on a digital platform, which is really important for comparability purposes. What’s even more critical is that the team at Brickflow managed to ensure we got a better deal and, in fact, we got a 1.25% margin improvement through using the preferred lenders it works with. My experience with Brickflow has surpassed my expectations.”

Our Approach

A friend of Shawn Rea, Sitio Home’s Chief Operating Officer, recommended Brickflow. He was excited by Brickflow’s proposition because he could view all lending options in one place on a digital platform.

After being introduced to a broker that uses Brickflow’s software, the team helped Shawn quickly and effectively scan the market and access some of the higher loan-to-value ratio loans. Through one of Brickflow’s preferred lenders, Sitio Homes was able to obtain a larger loan, reducing their deposit, which meant it didn’t have to work with external investors to secure the project. This was crucial for the family-run business as it allowed them to retain control and deliver more profit.

Before becoming a property developer, Shawn was a CFO for a number of high profile companies in Financial Services, and therefore regulatory environments and transparency is very important to him. By documenting everything and providing full visibility, from start to finish, Shawn's broker and Brickflow ensured the process was completely transparent. Shawn commented on how the team went out of their way to help and described their customer service as ‘phenomenal’.

The Results

Using Brickflow, Shawn's broker was able to secure Sitio Homes a much better loan than they’d been able to obtain from any lenders they’d approached themselves. Not only was £133k less equity required, but the interest rate was 1.25% lower too. A great result all-round.