Development finance in Aberdeen
CoreFi arranges development finance for property projects across Aberdeen and North East Scotland, from residential schemes to commercial conversions. We approach a whole-of-market panel to match your project to lenders on structure, drawdown and cost. We are a broker, not a lender.
Development finance funds the build cost of a project in stages as work progresses, releasing money against agreed drawdowns rather than in one lump. CoreFi arranges it as a broker, comparing our whole-of-market panel so the structure fits the scheme rather than the other way round.
Aberdeen and its surrounds carry a distinctive property picture. A city economy tied to energy, an ongoing shift in demand across the housing market, regeneration around the beachfront and city centre, and steady growth in commuter towns like Westhill, Portlethen and Ellon all shape what lenders will back and on what terms. We help developers navigate that.
- 1
Share the scheme
Tell us about the project, the site, the build cost, your experience and the intended exit. Even outline numbers let us gauge which lenders are realistic.
- 2
We shape and place it
We match your Aberdeen project to development lenders on our whole-of-market panel, present it in the right terms and come back with indicative structures to compare.
- 3
Drawdown and delivery
You choose the facility that fits. We help manage the case through the lender's process and the staged drawdowns as the build progresses.
The North East property picture
Development in and around Aberdeen does not look like development in a purely residential commuter market. The city's fortunes have long moved with the energy sector, which affects both demand and lender appetite, and that makes the choice of funder more consequential here than in a more uniform market. We see residential schemes across the suburbs and commuter belt towards Westhill, Kingswells, Portlethen and Ellon, conversions and refurbishments in the granite city centre and around the Rosemount and Ferryhill areas, and commercial and mixed-use projects tied to regeneration ambitions along the beach and harbour front. Each of these reads differently to a lender, and part of our role is presenting a scheme in a way that speaks to the funders most comfortable with that type of project in this location.
How development finance is structured
Development finance is usually arranged against the land or site value and the build cost, with funds released in stages as the project hits agreed milestones, often verified by a monitoring surveyor. Lenders look closely at the developer's experience, the exit, whether that is sale or refinance onto a term facility, and the numbers behind the scheme. Loan to cost, loan to gross development value and interest treatment all vary by lender and by project, and any figures we discuss early are indicative and illustrative only. The lender sets the terms once it has assessed the scheme. What we bring is a clear read on which lenders are realistic for your project and how to structure the ask so it stands up.
Why whole of market matters for developers
Development lending is a market of specialists, and appetite varies sharply by region, project type and stage. A lender keen on residential schemes in the Aberdeenshire commuter towns may have no interest in a city centre commercial conversion, and vice versa. Because we work across a whole-of-market panel, we can steer an Aberdeen project towards the funders most likely to engage seriously, and compare them on the things that actually affect a developer's return, drawdown flexibility, cost and how the facility is monitored. For a scheme where cash flow timing is everything, that comparison can be the difference between a project that runs smoothly and one that stalls.
Frequently asked questions
What types of project can be funded?
Residential schemes, conversions, refurbishments and commercial or mixed-use projects across Aberdeen and the North East can all be considered. Whether a specific scheme is fundable, and on what terms, is for the lender to assess. Early figures are indicative only.
Do I need previous development experience?
Experience helps and many lenders weigh it heavily, but it is not always essential. Appetite varies across our whole-of-market panel, and part of our role is matching less experienced developers to lenders more open to a first or early scheme.
How are funds released?
Development finance is typically drawn in stages as the project reaches agreed milestones, often signed off by a monitoring surveyor. The exact drawdown structure is set by the lender and forms part of what we help you compare.
Does CoreFi provide the development loan?
No. We are a broker, not a lender. We arrange development finance by matching your Aberdeen project to lenders on our panel. The lender decides whether to fund, at what level and on what terms.
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