Development Finance

Cynergy Bank has successfully completed its first transaction of 2025 under its enhanced bridging finance offering, reinforcing its commitment to supporting real estate developers.

The bank provided a £2.1 million development exit facility to a Hampshire-based property developer, secured against a seven-house development. Structured over nine months at 75% loan-to-value (LTV), the facility carries a variable interest rate of 0.87% per month, with rolled-up interest payable on a capitalised basis.

Designed to give the developer ample time to market and sell the properties, the funding also unlocked equity to repay third-party investors. This deal highlights Cynergy Bank’s growing presence in the short-term lending market and its willingness to support diverse property transactions.

Asim Shirwani led the bridging finance deal, which acts as a short-term flexible solution to the Hampshire-based lender.

Asim Shirwani, Director of Originations for Bridging, Cynergy Bank, commented: “I’m particularly pleased with the completion of this facility as it marks the start of our journey into the short-term lending arena. It also underlines our collective expertise and strong appetite for bridge loans in the somewhat underserved £2m – £20m debt space for property purchases, refurbishments and stabilisation to sell or hold.”

 Cynergy Bank’s commitment to a human digital approach remains at the heart of its Bridging Finance deals. The Bank prides itself on its ability to ensure customers have access to personalised support through its specialist relationship managers, and online support that caters for specific needs.

Close Brothers Property Finance (CBPF) and Barwood Capital have teamed up to create an innovative development finance model aimed at assisting SME housebuilders. This new approach helps both organizations manage risk while providing smaller builders with better access to the financial resources they need, particularly important as interest rates remain elevated.

The partnership offers SME housebuilders a combination of equity and senior debt, with Barwood Capital supplying the equity and CBPF providing senior debt. This allows builders to secure more land and increase home production. The model has already seen success on over 20 sites, helping deliver 230 homes with a Gross Development Value (GDV) of £130 million.

Most recently, Hurst & Hurst Estates utilised the loan partnership for a development in the New Forest National Park. This project, with a GDV of £13.5 million, will deliver 46 energy-efficient homes on a six-acre site—50% of which will be affordable housing. The development addresses critical housing needs in a picturesque rural location.

Barwood Capital are also currently partnering with Surrey-based housebuilder Kidbrook Homes, on a luxury apartment scheme in Kingston Hill overlooking Richmond Park, also funded by Close Brothers. Kidbrook were the first SME to work with Barwood Capital on this bespoke model and a recent acquisition in Godalming makes this the eleventh development project they have acquired together.

Equity and finance have long been cited as major barriers to entry and growth for SME housebuilders. In fact, 27% of SMEs identify development finance as a major barrier to delivery . As a result, by removing that barrier, this groundbreaking model has the potential to boost SME housebuilding production at a time when supply is historically low.

Simon Davey, Business Development Director, Close Brothers Property Finance, commented: “SMEs are known for delivering high-quality, sustainable homes that create significant economic benefits for local communities by leveraging local supply chains and apprentices. By partnering with Barwood Capital to create this new lending model, we’re able to provide SME housebuilders with access to both senior debt and equity whilst diversifying risk and removing key barriers to development opportunities—all at a time when the housing shortage remains acute.”

Steve Chambers, Director and Head of Residential, Barwood Capital added: “Barwood Capital has been partnering with SME housebuilders for over 10  years, by providing equity for their projects and working together to deliver some exceptional family homes across the UK.  Our tried and tested funding model with Close Brothers, will expedite our existing developer partnerships and generate new ones, which will only bolster the UK’s requirement for new homes.”

The OPEC Fund for International Development reached a milestone in 2024, committing a record-breaking $2.3 billion to global development initiatives—marking a 35% increase from the previous year. These funds, allocated across 70 projects worldwide, are driving progress in climate action, global food security, the energy transition, and sustainable social and economic growth.

OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa highlighted the significance of this achievement, stating:
“In 2024, the OPEC Fund set a new benchmark in delivering impactful development finance to tackle global priorities. Our record commitments underscore our ability to boost climate action and social resilience, as well as the strength of our partnerships with countries and development institutions like the World Bank and the Arab Coordination Group. As we approach our 50th anniversary, we are well positioned to maximize impact and create lasting benefits for communities worldwide.”

The OPEC Fund’s 2024 financing was distributed across various regions:

• Middle East & North Africa, Europe & Central Asia: 39%
• Sub-Saharan Africa: 34%
• Asia & the Pacific: 13%
• Latin America & the Caribbean: 11%
• Regional & global projects: 3%

These funds were delivered through a range of financial instruments, including public and private sector lending, trade finance, and grants to support sustainable growth.

The largest segment of last year’s funding was policy-based lending (19 percent), supporting government-led sustainable development programs and policy implementation in countries such as Armenia (US$50 million), Cote D’Ivoire (US$60 million), Jordan (US$100 million), Montenegro (US$50 million), Morocco (US$100 million), Sri Lanka (US$50 million) and Uzbekistan (US$70 million).

Significant delivery to support global food security and climate action:

Compared to 2023, the OPEC Fund tripled its commitments to the agriculture sector, in line with its strategic priority to boost global food security. The OPEC Fund provided US$261 million in financing to promote agricultural sustainability in Benin (US$26 million), Eswatini (US$20 million), Honduras (US$15 million), Lesotho (US$20 million), Malawi (US$20 million), Rwanda (US$20 million), Tanzania (US$50 million) and Türkiye (US$50 million).

In 2024, the OPEC Fund delivered on its Climate Action Plan ahead of target. Aligned with this strategy, renewable energy projects constituted nearly 40 percent of the institution’s energy sector commitments last year. These included the Begana and Gamri hydro project in Bhutan (US$50 million), the Suez wind farm in Egypt (US$30 million), the Rogun hydropower project in Tajikistan (US$25 million) and a 42 MW wind farm in Uganda (US$16.5 million). Additional energy investments targeted improved transmission and connectivity in the Dominican Republic (two US$60 million loans) and Mauritania (US$40 million), as well as expanded energy access in Uzbekistan (US$37.5 million), all contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 7 – Clean and Affordable Energy.

Boosting sustainable and climate resilient infrastructure, significant funding (12 percent) was delivered to enhance connectivity in the transport sector. Major projects included investments in Madagascar (US$30 million), Oman (US$180 million), Paraguay (US$50 million), Senegal (US$38 million), Tanzania (US$41 million) and Uganda (US$30 million).

In the financial sector, the OPEC Fund allocated more than US$270 million to partner with governments and local banks for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises, driving job creation and enhancing access to finance in Armenia, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Dominican Republic, Nepal, Paraguay and Uzbekistan. Another US$375 million in trade finance supported the movement of critical commodities and goods, including agricultural products, to and from developing economies.

In 2024, the OPEC Fund strengthened partnerships with key institutions, including the African Development Bank (AfDB), Arab Coordination Group (ACG), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB); signed a co-financing agreement with the World Bank Group and MoUs with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and FONPLATA. The OPEC Fund also signed Country Framework Agreements with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan aiming to further deepen the institution’s impact in the Central Asia region.