25 yrs
Arranging property finance
About us
A supported housing 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 Supported Living Finance after more than 25 years arranging funding for commercial and specialist residential property across the UK. Over that time he has structured and placed more than £500 million of finance, from single supported living units let to a registered provider through to conversion schemes and lease-backed portfolios.
Much of that career was spent on the lender's side of the table, which is where the relationships come from. He knows how acquisition, bridging, development and term-debt desks read a registered-provider lease, what they make of a lightly capitalised provider, how they treat exempt accommodation and the licensing regime now coming in, and where a deal will stall. That is the difference between an introduction and a funded deal.
Every enquiry is read, structured and taken to market by Matt himself. There is no junior desk and no hand-off. Investors, landlords and developers 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 for supported living, specialist supported housing and social housing across the whole lifecycle of the asset. We model the facility a deal needs, take it to the lenders most likely to back it, and place the structure that funds the property from acquisition or conversion through to long-term hold. We work across acquisition finance, bridging, development finance, mezzanine, equity introductions and term debt for investors, landlords and developers UK-wide. We are an arranger and introducer, not a lender, and we do not sell investment property.
We are an arranger and introducer, not a lender, and we do not sell investment property. We work the whole market and are paid by lender commission or an agreed fee, so our incentive sits with the investor, landlord or developer rather than with any one funder, and certainly not with whoever is selling the unit. In a sector where most of the advice available to buyers comes from the party marketing the asset, that distinction is the whole point of us. Most of the lending we arrange is unregulated business lending; where a transaction would be a regulated mortgage contract, we refer it to an appropriately authorised firm.
Why sector knowledge matters
A home let on a 30-year lease to a large housing association, a converted HMO running as exempt accommodation for a small non-profit provider, and an extra care scheme being forward funded are underwritten on different tests by different lenders. The first turns on the association's covenant and the lease. The second turns on a housing benefit exemption a council can challenge, and is usually sized on what the house is worth as an ordinary home. The third turns on build cost, tenure mix and the forward funding agreement. Knowing which lender backs which, at what leverage and on what terms, is the difference between a deal that funds and one that stalls.
The company
Supported Living 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 deal
Send us the outline and Matt will come back with a view on fundability and likely terms.