Quantum expands North West ambitions

With Richard Hemmings on board as managing director, the development financier has committed £60m to regional projects – a number it hopes to grow.

Hemmings joined Quantum Development Finance earlier this autumn after 19 years at Close Brothers Property Finance. It was during his time at Close Brothers that he developed an interest in the North West and formed connections with the region’s SME housebuilders.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with developers in the North West over the past fifteen years,” he said.

“It is a vibrant and forward-looking region and I fully intend to champion support for housebuilders and developers in my new role at Quantum.”

Hemmings’ North West experience is set to be a big asset for QDF, according to company co-founder Rebecca Murphy.

“At QDF we are committed to becoming the development funding partner of choice in the North, and we hope to leverage Richard’s extensive contacts and experience of lending on residential and mixed-use schemes in the North West as we expand our client base in the region,” she said.

QDF’s 12-strong team is based in London but has already made loans for six residential projects in the region, including schemes in Manchester, Cumbria, and north Cheshire. Hemmings kept mum regarding the specifics, but did tease that the Manchester project was a “major apartment scheme”.

Across the country, QDF has committed close to £400m over the past 15 months towards helping developers get residential projects off the ground. This includes working alongside Wavensmere Homes’ £175m Nightingale Quarter in Derby.

QDF provides both development finance and bridging finance loans ranging from £1m to £30m. In bridging finance, it supports a loan-to-value ratio of up to 75%. Regarding development finance, it supports projects up to 70% loan-to-GDV ratio.

QDF was founded in 2022 by Muprhy, Oliver Thompson, and Chris Proud. The trio had worked together as directors at Paragon Development Finance before branching out on their own. QDF then partnered with AB CarVal to provide long-term funding for projects. Having AB CarVal on board enables QDF to deploy £2bn into the SME housebuilding world over the next five years.