Real estate debt and insurance advice firm Karis Capital has originated more than £600m worth of loans in its first year of business.
The firm has assisted a mix of clients across the real estate sector, and the largest loan transacted by Karis Capital was £25.25m.
This primed a £500m, 183-unit purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme in Leeds.
The smallest loan facilitated was a £50,000 second charge bridge.
Karis Capital recently celebrated its first anniversary in London, where co-founder and CEO Nicholas Christofi shared the firm’s achievements and expansion plans.
The Karis Capital workforce has increased by 60% in the last year to 28 employees, and to support its growth, the firm has moved to headquarters in the City of London. This includes three brokers recruited through its academy programme and five appointments within its insurance arm. A further four brokers are expected to qualify through its academy programme next year.
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Its insurance arm also delivered “strong results”, the firm said, and secured more than £250m in reinstatement value.
Christofi said: “When we set up the business, it was perhaps one of the most challenging times economically, so we were aware of the difficulties that we faced, but we knew that with what we had to offer the marketplace, combined with hard work, we would be a success. Our goal is and always will be to redefine the way developers and investors approach financing.
“From the outset, we have wanted to build enduring partnerships with our clients and we are just incredibly grateful to all of those that trusted our vision and supported us in the past 12 months. Our objective moving into year two is to double our revenue, continue to expand our team and constantly work to source the best finance for our clients to have the freedom to do what they do best.”
Christofi said the firm did not “discriminate” deals based on size or cherry-pick them, adding that it was “relationship-led and will assist clients with all funding challenges no matter complexity or size”.
“We also specialise in a range of development classes, with substantial completions in the PBSA and care spaces, as well as many large portfolio refinances and countless bridging loans and funding of refurbishment works in the houses in multiple occupation (HMO) space,” he added.
Christofi continued: “We are an ally of the SME developer and continue to work hard in this space to secure optimal bespoke finance packages to ensure deals stack up and are workable for the developer in what has been a very tricky market.”
