Case study: Auction Purchase Completed in 2 Days – £100K Net for Experienced Landlady

An experienced landlady needed £100,000 net urgently to secure a property she had successfully bid on at auction.

As with most auction purchases, there was a strict completion deadline — and any delay could have meant losing the deposit and the property.

The application was received Friday morning.

The Challenge

• Extremely tight turnaround
• Auction deadline approaching
• First charge lender would not grant consent
• Funding needed to be certain and fast

Speed was critical — but so was structuring the deal correctly.

The Solution

We immediately prioritised the case and worked closely with both the customer and her broker.

• The application was fully packaged on submission
• Our underwriter Lewis, spoke directly with the customer to streamline communication
• The broker was proactive and efficient in gathering the required documents
• The property passed our AVM (Automated Valuation Model), meaning no full valuation was required
• Instead of waiting for first charge consent, we structured the deal with an equitable charge over one of her properties

By using an equitable charge, we avoided delays linked to lender consent — keeping the transaction on track.

The Outcome

• Application received: Friday morning
• Funds released: Monday

The client secured her auction purchase on time, without unnecessary complications or delays.

Why This Worked

• Manual, decisive underwriting
• Smart structuring (equitable charge)
• AVM accepted — no valuation delay
• Strong broker collaboration
• Direct communication with the borrower

‘Brilliant service from Mercantile Trust, who supported a client of mine on a very tight deadline to raise funds on one of her properties to exchange on another. Went from making an enquiry on a Thursday morning, to sending them all of the paperwork the next day, to funds being released to my client on the following Monday so client could exchange by the Monday close of business deadline! Really quick! Special thanks to Lewis, who was handling the case and was really helpful throughout with very clear and re-assuring communication’

— Broker Partner