A fund harnessing the short-term secured property lending market in the UK has been launched by alternatives specialist Omni Partners.

A fund harnessing the short-term secured property lending market in the UK has been launched by alternatives specialist Omni Partners.

The Omni Secured Lending Fund I LP attempts to fill the vacuum created by banks withdrawing from short-term property lending in the UK to deliver favourable risk-adjusted returns. In this area, lenders gain higher security for quick lending decisions and swiftly obtain an interest rate premium.

Duration is a key aspect of the fund; the firm said in a statement that the relatively short-term structure of the fund caters to investment demand.

Investor funds will be used to finance loans with a maximum duration of 18 months secured against both residential and commercial properties in the UK. Strict lending requirements will be enforced, including a maximum loan-to-value of 70 per cent.

Omni’s recently-integrated subsidiary Capital Bridging Finance Limited will manage the lending process. In its four years of operation, it has underwritten over £100 million ($163 million) of aggregate lending across more than 350 discrete loans. Both CBFL and Omni were founded by Steve Clark, who also serves as the latter’s head of risk.

“The key characteristics of this strategy are superior asset quality, short tenor and high yield. In addition, CBFL’s track record is a hard track, delivered on actual capital whilst operating as a stand-alone company unlike the paper track records being peddled by some other new launches within the direct lending space. It is these factors that have been attracting investors to this exciting new strategy,” Clark said.