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lternative lenders are increasingly venturing into diverse property sectors, driven by a growing appetite for social housing, strategic land portfolios, and leisure assets. Recent transactions demonstrate their willingness to support specialist borrowers with complex deals.

    LHV Bank has entered the social housing market with its first direct loan, providing a five-year fixed-rate facility to Vital Homes, a property development group focused on housing vulnerable tenant groups. The £1.5 million loan refinanced bridging loans used to acquire and convert two houses in multiple occupation, now leased to a registered charity.

    Hampshire Trust Bank has completed a £20 million+ development finance facility for a UK-based investor with a strategic land portfolio across the South East and Midlands. The committed term facility will support phased sales of consented sites to UK housebuilders and its own housebuilding arm.

    In another deal, Hilco Real Estate Finance provided a £4.5 million, 24-month bridging loan secured on a 130-acre Suffolk holiday park. The loan enabled the borrower to repay multiple existing debt facilities and optimise the business's capital structure.

    These transactions highlight alternative lenders' growing sophistication and inclination to support specialist borrowers with complex deals. Their ability to accommodate diverse property sectors and ownership structures is driving growth in the sector.