$2,500,000 equity take out secured against tenanted office property

Amount: $22,500,000

Amortization: 30 years

Lender: Credit union 

Location: Kelowna

Class: Office

Goals achieved: Additional leverage, Greater flexibility

In early 2025, Lakepoint approached its trusted lender network to looking to provide a refinance + equity take out secured against a Class A office property in Kelowna. The property was less than 10 years old, 95% leased up and the majority owner had significant personal net worth. By all accounts, this was a deal that should have seen significant lender interest.

However, in early 2025, arranging financing for office properties was no small feat. Due to remote work arrangements that were still widely being utilized across Canada, office properties were seeing higher vacancy rates that, combined with a corresponding spike in interest rates over the same period, created a very tough lending market.

We received the same response from numerous bank lenders, almost verbatim: "We would love to do this deal, but we don't have any appetite for this asset class right now". Despite Kelowna having a much different office profile than Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and other major markets - average commutes are much shorter, removing one of the largest complaints many workers have against return-to-work policies - lending decisions like this are made at a national level and rolled out to all commercial banking groups in Canada.

Or at least, that is the case with the banks.

Reinforcing the importance of a comprehensive approach, we did not meet the same resistance at credit unions. In fact, the reception was the opposite, with multiple competitive offers being received. That is because generally, BC credit unions are better positioned to make lending decisions that are hyper-localized, without the influence of an executive leadership group located five provinces away. This proved to be crucial to getting the deal done.

Ultimately, the deal obtained was a great one: we were able to negotiate a larger equity takeout, extend the amortization to 30 years, release minority shareholders from the security structure, and reduce the personal guarantee of the owner to 25% of the total loan amount. The mission was accomplished, and then some.

The outcome highlights what sets Lakepoint apart: approaching the lenders that will engage, structuring requests in a way that earns attention, and pushing for terms that go beyond what most borrowers could secure on their own.

If you’re navigating a challenging market or considering refinancing, don’t rely on a single lender’s appetite to determine your options. Reach out to Lakepoint Capital to explore how a tailored process can uncover better financing, more flexibility, and expectation-exceeding results.