About Optima
Gary Walsh, the proprietor of Optima Property Funding, has provided information on what the business does, the market it operates in and how it works with property developers to broker property development finance.
Who is Optima Property Funding and what do they do?
Optima Property Funding (Optima) is a finance brokerage that works with Property Developers & Investors to arrange funding for their property projects.
We broker the full range of products required by Property Developers & Investors namely:
- Senior & Stretched Senior Debt
- Mezzanine Debt
- Equity, JVs & 100% Funding
- Development Exit Finance
- Bridging Finance
- Investment Mortgages
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Optima are based in St Albans (but also work from a central London base as required) and broker finance for projects in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. As a rule of thumb, we have a minimum loan size of £1M for 1st charge Development Finance (Senior and Stretched Senior Debt). £250,000 for Mezzanine and Equity slices and £500,000 for Development Exit Finance, Bridging Loans and Investment Mortgages. There is no cap on the maximum loan we will broker and we place cases running into multi-millions.
Do Optima broker FCA Regulated Business?
Optima is regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and therefore does broker FCA regulated business where the borrower is non – incorporated and the debt is secured by a 1st legal charge on land.
Therefore we are able to broker finance for a wide range of legal entities to include Limited Companies, Partnerships, Limited Liability Partnerships, Sole Traders, Trusts, and Offshore Vehicles.
We do not broker finance where the property is the residence of the borrower (MCOB Regulated Mortgage Contract)
Who is behind the name?
The proprietor is Gary Walsh who spent twenty five years in banking including the last six of those years in a senior position in the property finance division of a large bank. Gary is a professionally qualified, having passed the recognised ACIB (Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers) examinations.
After leaving banking, Gary set up the brokerage in 2003.
Gary has also undertaken a handful of property development projects thus gaining hands on experience of the challenges!
Do Optima have any industry accreditation?
Optima is a full member of the NACFB (National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers); a recognised and reputable body. Optima abide by the code of conduct of the NACFB.Optima hold both Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Permissions and a Data Protection Licence. Details can be seen at the foot of the web site.
How do Optima operate, what fees are charged and when are they payable?
We operate the following transparent and fair policy on fees:
We work with many satisfied Property Developer & Investor clients, some of whom have provided references which you can view on the Testimonials page of the site and who if contacted, will vouch that as well as being both professional and competent, we are competitive and fair in our fee policy.
Where are we located?
We operate from serviced offices In St Albans, situated in between the high street (a minutes’ walk) and the train station (7 minutes’ walk).
Suite 206,
54 – 56 Victoria Street,
St Albans, AL1 3HZ
By Train - 17 minutes from London St Pancras International
By Road - a few miles from M1 J 6 Northbound/ M1 J7 Southbound and M25 J 21A
We also operate from a central London office one or two days a week.
91 Wimpole Street,
Marylebone,
London, W1G 0EF
By Tube – both Oxford Circus and
Bond Street underground stations are 5 minutes’ walk.
Bond Street underground stations are 5 minutes’ walk.
We also have access to another 25 or so Business Lounges (operated by The Office Group) throughout central London, many located at or near mainline train stations, where we can meet our clients.
And of course we are happy to travel to meet our clients at their workplace or project site.