Agility in
Ferntree Gully.

Development Finance, $10m
Case Study by Tom W

Local Developer
Residential Mixed-Use

The more challenging the project, the more we flex to deliver our best. At Jadig, we understand the nuances of taking on complex development sites and believe the best outcomes result when we roll up our sleeves and get stuck in.

In late 2019, we partnered with our client – a local developer – on a $10.3m, mixed-use, office, retail and residential building in Ferntree Gully. We came highly recommended by one of our finance brokers, who knew they needed something more than an ‘off-the-shelf’ solution. Essentially, the site they had purchased from another developer had suffered setbacks: it was delayed when contamination was found following the initial excavation works, plus they had inherited some expired purchase contracts. On top of that, the project’s construction was later delayed by COVID-19 stage 4 restrictions.

Time was of the essence given the developer was already running another project concurrently. So, we bought back time.

We enabled the developer to access contingency funds to cover the costs of the required remedial works. When stage 4 restrictions hit, we met regularly with all counterparties on site, listening to their needs to come up with a revised timetable. At the same time, it was important for us to be flexible on the inherited presale contracts, allowing the developer to negotiate with the buyers more confidently. Then, enabled them to execute a clever marketing strategy, which saw them achieve higher sales prices by offering the unsold apartments and retail as the project advanced.

We knew that a deeply strategic response was a good fit for a team already highly experienced in the property industry. And it worked. They are happy to work with us in the future, and we are happy to be another preferred lender.