SHOJIN PROEPRTY PARTNERS LAUNCHES LATEST CROWDFUNDING OPPORTUNITY IN SOUTHEND-ON-SEA

[Gareth Bain]

In August 2018, Shojin Property Partners raised £1.63m for the first phase of a 49-unit residential development in Southend-on-Sea. On Tuesday, 29th January, they launched the second phase of the project and are now raising £1.45 million. The timeframe for this project is 24 months offers an expected fixed return of 15% - 17% per annum. The project is secured against with a second charge on the property and is ISA eligible for UK residents.

In 2018 the developers received planning permission to demolish a derelict pub and neighbouring fish & chips shop to build a five-storey, contemporary landmark building. This project is a mixed-use development situated in a prime seafront location, with views of the Thames Estuary and in close proximity to the 1.34-mile Southend pier where they film ‘Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast’.

Jatin Ondhia, CEO of Shojin Property Partners, commented: “During the first phase, we managed to raise the required amount in just under two weeks. This project was very popular, and we expect the same for the second phase.”

Southend has seen an increase in popularity recently due to a significant regeneration and it is starting to attract both younger buyers as well as retirees to the sunny seaside town, which is under an hour from London.

“There is strong demand for this scheme as there is limited supply of waterfront apartments in the location of Southend-on-Sea. This project is a Mezzanine investment which is ISA eligible. Any investor looking to receive tax-free investments up to £20,000 can invest in this project using an ISA before the March Tax deadline” said Jatin.

As with every investment, Shojin Property Partners co-invest alongside their investors and only take profits once the project has successfully completed.

“Since the launch of our crowdfunding platform in 2017, we have seen investors from different walks of life and across a broad age range, investing in our projects, from as little as £5,000. We now offer investors the opportunity to invest across the entire property sector. Our success is down to the broad range of investment opportunities we offer, including mini bonds, bridging loans, mezzanine loans and equity in property development projects.”

For further information, please call Gareth Bain on 0203 871 5959 or visit www.shojin.co.uk.

Shojin Property Partners is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (No. 716765). Shojin Property Partners is a trading name of Shojin Financial Services Limited (company number 09697161) and the registered office is at Golden Cross House, 8 Duncannon Street, London, WC2N 4JF.

 

[diyhelp]

What is the average price of the accommodation units and what market are you targeting?

 

[PostBrexitInvestor]

I am interested to hear about the growth in property related crowdfunding - do you have any recent figures to shwo the trend? From what I read in the papers it has mushroomed over the last few years.

 

[Gareth Bain]

What is the average price of the accommodation units and what market are you targeting?

Hi @diyhelp

I am not sure how to correctly answer your questions as it relates to two components. So I will try my best. Please let me know if I haven't answered it sufficiently.

From a sales perspective:
The 1 & 2 bedroom flats range in price from £335k - £1.1M and are roughly 726 sqft in average size. The target audience is anyone looking for Seafront apartment under an hour into London. We will have more detail once the units are completed.

From a crowdfunding perspective:
We are not raising funds for the units themselves but rather to fund the building of this development. In terms of target market, we are looking for investors that want to diversify their property portfolio and invest as little as £5,000 into property development.

There is a lot more information on our website in terms of the crowdfunding process, the apartments themselves as well as the investment process. For more information visit www.shojin.co.uk

 

[Gareth Bain]

I am interested to hear about the growth in property related crowdfunding - do you have any recent figures to show the trend? From what I read in the papers it has mushroomed over the last few years.

Hi @PostBrexitInvestor

We have been noticing this trend for a while. What has happened lately is that the FCA has clamped down on Crowdfunding organisation to ensure that they comply with FCA regulations. Many of them have closed but there is still a long way to go. There are two types of property crowdfunding companies. 1. Those who have their own license, like Shojin Property Partners and 2. Those who are appointed representatives (don't own their license but operate under a license holder.) Obviously owning your own license is a lot more regulated.

We have also notice that many property crowdfunding companies come from a Tech background and not necessarily a property background. So although they have created an amazing platform which brings together lenders and borrowers, they might not necessarily understand the property market as well as others.

At Shojin, we co-invest our own money into every project we present to investors so we need to make sure that we do a considerable amount of due diligence before presenting it to investors. Whereas other companies charge upfront fees and expect the investor to do DD on their investment.

The market is going through a lot of transformation at the moment and we believe that there will be a clampdown by the FCA and only the most appropriate companies will exist. Which I think is good for the industry as it protects investors.