A new non-bank lender has entered the commercial property market to provide a viable alternative to the ‘tough’ major banks.
Finance veteran Dominic Lambrinos and the principals of Nationwide Capital, Domenic and Joe Morello have formed Chifley Securities which will offer loans in the commercial property market ranging from $2 million to $30 million.
Lambrinos has over 30 years of experience in finance and is also the owner of EasyBiz Finance. He says the reason behind establishing Chifley Securities is to provide borrowers with an alternative to the traditional funding routes which can be onerous to work with.
“Unfortunately the major banks are proving to be too difficult to work with, as their lending covenants and red tape are holding back the commercial property sector in Australia.”
The lender has an initial lending pool of $480 million, which Domenic Morello says is funded by Australian and overseas investors.
“The majority of our funding is coming more from Australian private investors with the balance made up of European and Chinese investors, who we see as a major growth driver for property finance in the future.”
The lender is looking to work closely with the third party channel, offering attractive commissions to brokers who bring deals to them, while financing costs will range from 8.5% to 12% a year.
FBAA CEO Peter White says he was happy to hear that Chifley Securities has been established to shake-up the commercial property lending sector.
Chifley Securities will fill a niche in the market by basing its lending decisions on the existing asset values, risk profile and prospects of the commercial property projects.
by Julia Corderoy | 26 Nov 2014
Australian Broker Online