Harvey Homes secures funding for Knutsford scheme

The luxury housing firm has received a £7m funding package from specialist lender Together in order to fund 30 homes in Swan Green near Knutsford.

The mix of four- and five-bedroom detached houses, two-bedroom mews, and semi-detached houses is set to include nine affordable homes. The show home is set to be open by the end of 2019; the first houses, which range in price between £735,000 to £855,000 were released for sale in recent weeks.

Harvey Homes Group was established last year by father and son Nick and Tom Harvey Ratcliffe, along with fellow director Mike Kennedy.

The company struggled to find funding for its projects from mainstream banks, but Together agreed the funding package after visiting the four-acre site.

Ian Pickering, development funding lending director at Together, said: “This is a magnificent scheme with a choice of six styles of architect-designed homes in one of Cheshire’s most prestigious neighbourhoods and it’s great to see it starting to take shape.

“We agreed the funding because we were really impressed with the vision and expertise of Harvey Homes’ directors and excited about the potential for development. We saw Harvey Homes as an ideal investment partnership and were more than happy to provide the financial support they were looking for.”

Tom Harvey Ratliffe, co-founder of Harvey Homes Group, said: “As a bespoke property business we knew that we had found a hidden gem at Swan Green. We had a strong plan for the development, we already owned the land and we have great experience within our management team, many whom have been working with established housebuilders and property companies in the North West for many years.

“However, the banks we originally approached were nervous to lend to us because our board had limited experience in residential property, which is one of the reasons we brought Mike Kennedy onto the team as his extensive residential experience is fantastic.

“He then introduced us to the team at Together and, as North West property experts themselves, they were well aware of Mike’s credentials and the housebuilding expertise he brought to the group.

“It’s fantastic that Together has agreed to support us. Aside from the financial aspect, it’s particularly beneficial to have a lender on board which really understands the needs of developers like us and is willing to help turn our exciting vision into a reality. We’re looking forward to developing our burgeoning relationship by undertaking many more projects with them.”