Commercial Portfolio Refinance Cambridge
Replace the patchwork of individual mortgages, maturity dates and lender relationships with a single facility, secured as a blanket charge or as aggregated charges. £2M to £20M typical. Loan-to-value 65 to 70% across the portfolio, aggregated interest cover 140 to 150%, interest rates 6.5 to 8.5% pa, 5 to 25 year repayment terms. Limited company holding structures supported.
Min portfolio
5+ assets
Facility size
£2M to £20M+
LTV
Up to 70%
Rate
From 6.5% pa
What does portfolio consolidation actually look like?
Portfolio refinancing is a single commercial facility secured against multiple investment assets, replacing the patchwork of individual mortgages and maturity dates that builds up over a typical landlord lifecycle. For Cambridge-based investors carrying five or more commercial or semi-commercial properties, the operational saving alone justifies the move: one quarterly review, one ICR test, one lender relationship, one renewal date.
Two core structures. Blanket charge, one charge across all assets, prices keenest on interest rate but locks the whole portfolio together. Aggregated facility, individual charges aggregated against a single facility limit, is more flexible if you want optionality to sell or refinance specific assets out. Release fees apply on aggregated when a single asset is removed; the structure works because the rest of the portfolio absorbs the residual debt.
Aggregate ICR is tested across the portfolio at 140 to 150% stressed at a notional interest rate 1 to 2% above pay rate. Tenant concentration matters: if more than 20 to 25% of income comes from a single tenant, lenders may price wider or cap loan-to-value. Sector concentration matters similarly, though life sciences concentration in a Cambridge portfolio is treated more constructively than most given the structural demand picture. Geographic concentration in Cambridge plus the surrounding Cambridgeshire ring (South Cambridgeshire, East Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire) is fine; lenders are comfortable with regional clustering when the borrower demonstrates local market knowledge.
Most Cambridge portfolio refinancing today is taken out by limited company holding structures (single corporate-level entity, or a topco with subsidiary SPVs), partly for tax efficiency, partly because lenders increasingly prefer a clean corporate counterparty for £5M+ facilities. Stamp duty land tax does not apply on refinancing (no transfer of beneficial ownership), which is part of what makes consolidation maths work even when ERCs on existing facilities have to be modelled in. Portfolio refinancing sits outside FCA regulation. Indicative case seed: a Cambridge investor with seven Romsey and Mill Road semi-commercial blocks plus a single CSP-fringe office investment, £8.6M total value, refinanced into a single aggregated facility at 65% LTV (£5.6M) at around 6.8% pa.
Process: from asset list to drawdown across multiple properties
1. Portfolio analysis
Asset list, current debt schedule, leases, rent roll, recent valuations. We model aggregated ICR, sector mix, tenant concentration, geographic spread.
2. Lender shortlist
Three to four portfolio lenders shortlisted based on facility size, sector mix and LTV target. Indicative terms within 7 working days.
3. Structure decision
Blanket charge versus aggregated. Term length. Fixed versus tracker interest rate. Trade-offs modelled before submission.
4. Credit pack
Asset-by-asset pack plus aggregated portfolio summary. Lender wants to see the whole shape clearly: concentration, covenant, lease maturities.
5. Co-ordinated valuations
Multiple RICS Red Book valuations co-ordinated across the portfolio, typically 4 to 6 weeks for the full set, the longest critical-path item.
6. Legals and ERC handling
Multi-asset legal pack, intercreditor handling for any retained debt, ERC settlement on existing facilities. 6 to 10 weeks total typical.
Portfolio profiles where this product earns its keep
- Cambridge-based commercial landlords carrying 5+ investment properties under different lenders
- Multi-asset HMO and semi-commercial blocks across Romsey, Petersfield and Mill Road being consolidated under one corporate holding
- Life sciences investor portfolios holding lab and office investment around Cambridge Science Park, CBC and Granta Park
- Mixed semi-commercial books spanning Mill Road, Chesterton, Newnham and the Cherry Hinton fringe
- Investors approaching multiple maturity dates on individual fixes within a 24-month window
- Family offices and professional investor LLPs holding mixed commercial portfolios across Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire
- Operators wanting to release equity across the portfolio for onward acquisition
- Investors moving from individual SPVs into a single corporate-level holding limited company
Active Cambridge portfolio desks and typical book composition
Shawbrook, InterBay Commercial and Cynergy Bank are the most active portfolio lenders for the £2M to £20M Cambridge bracket. Lloyds and NatWest commercial banking compete on the prime end, with East Anglia corporate desks running coverage out of regional offices. Cambridge & Counties Bank holds a particularly defensible position on local portfolios in its East Anglia home market. The typical Cambridge portfolio profile we see has two distinct flavours: the life sciences investor book (a handful of lab and office investments around the CSP, CBC and Granta Park clusters, often with strong-covenant FRI leases and longer WAULTs); and the HMO / semi-commercial inner-ring book (multi-asset blocks across Mill Road, Romsey, Petersfield and Chesterton, blended yield, durable residential demand from the universities and the Addenbrooke's workforce). Refinancing volume is particularly strong on portfolios with original draws from 2019 to 2021 where current valuations support a meaningfully better consolidated LTV than the original. Pricing currently 6.5 to 8.5% pa across portfolio facilities. See also our single-asset commercial remortgage route for smaller books.
Portfolio Refinance FAQs
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Exploring Portfolio Refinance for your Cambridge scheme?
Free-of-charge scheme assessment. Indicative terms within 48 hours.