Duncan Kreeger, chairman of West One Loans, said: “A lot of short-term lenders have no option but to focus on residential deals. They know commercial property is harder to refinance and the deals are harder to underwrite.
"By lending to an off-shore entity based in the British Virgin Islands, we have shown West One Loans is capable of handling a broad spectrum of cases including the most complicated international deals.
“But this case also shows we are continuing to lend against commercial property on a consistent basis.”
Research done by the lender showed just 16% of all loans by volume are now against commercial property compared to 30% back in 2009.
Kreeger added: “I’m pleased to say we are bucking that trend.”
Daniel Fireman, managing partner of CKFT solicitors, who advised West One Loans said: “This is a prime example of a good but complicated loan that less committed lenders may have been unable to perform due to the complexities of the deal and the tight timescale.”
