25 yrs
Arranging property finance
About us
A semi-commercial finance arranger on the borrower's side
Led by Matt Lenzie, with 25 years and more than £500 million of UK property finance arranged.
The authority behind the site
Matt Lenzie, Founder & Principal Broker
Matt Lenzie founded Semi-Commercial Property Finance after more than 25 years arranging funding against property across the UK. Over that time he has structured and placed more than £500 million of finance, much of it against part-commercial, part-residential assets: shops with flats above, offices with residential upper floors, pubs and guest houses with accommodation, and larger mixed-use blocks.
Much of that career was spent on the lender's side of the table, which is where the relationships come from. He knows how each lender treats the residential element of a semi-commercial asset, where the 40 percent line sits, how they stress the combined commercial and residential income, and which desks will lend on the assets others decline. That is the difference between an introduction and a completed loan.
Every enquiry is read, structured and taken to market by Matt himself. There is no junior desk and no hand-off. Borrowers deal directly with the person arranging their finance.
£500m+
Funding arranged
100+
Lender relationships
Direct
Every deal, no hand-off
What we do
We arrange finance against semi-commercial and mixed-use property. We read the commercial and residential split, work out how each lender will treat the residential element, size the loan on the combined rent, take the case to the lenders most likely to back it, and manage it through to completion. We work across semi-commercial mortgages, mixed-use mortgages, investment and owner-occupier facilities, bridging, remortgage and portfolio finance.
We are a finance arranger and introducer, not a lender. We are paid to find the borrower the right facility, so our incentive sits with the borrower rather than any one lender. Semi-commercial finance for business and investment borrowers is unregulated lending, outside the FCA's regulated mortgage perimeter. Where an individual borrower will personally occupy the residential element, the loan can fall under FCA-regulated rules, and we refer those cases to a regulated firm.
Why lender knowledge matters
The defining question on any semi-commercial property is the split between the commercial and residential parts, by floor area or value. As a rule of thumb, once the residential element passes roughly 40 percent the property tends to be treated as residential; below that it sits firmly in the semi-commercial bucket. Lenders draw that line in different places, stress the combined commercial and residential rent at different interest cover ratios, commonly 125 to 140 percent, and price the same building very differently. Knowing which lender treats a given mixed-use asset well, at what loan to value and on what stress, is the difference between an introduction and a completed loan.
The company
Semi-Commercial Property Finance is a trading name of Lenzie Consulting Ltd, registered in England and Wales under company number 08174104. Registered office: Lynch Farm, Kensworth, Dunstable, LU6 3QZ.
Tell us about your property
Send us the detail and Matt will come back with a view on fundability and likely terms.