Last month, Compagnie de Phalsbourg, a commercial real estate company became the largest project to ever be financed on a European crowdlending platform. The company borrowed € 5,000,000 over 36 months to finance acquisition of land and related development costs, studies and other expenses. Who was behind this funding? Our partner at Arkea Bank E & I, Thibaut Dominican reveals how Arkea Bank E & I and October were able to work together to finance this project.
*A transcribed interview between October and Thibaut Dominican, from Arkea Bank E & I.
October: Hello Thibaut! First of all, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Can you first review the beginning of the relationship between Arkéa Bank E & I and October?
Thibaut Dominican: Hello to you too! Our relationship began in September 2018, when the Director of Partnerships at October, Sébastien Astre, came to present the platform’s global operations and their dedication to the real estate sector to our team. We met once more at the Journées d’Études Professionnelles de la FPI (Fédération Promoteurs Immobiliers) in February 2019.
October: Very good, thank you. Once the relationship was established, when did you say “we can not satisfy this client’s needs, we should ask October”?
Thibaut Dominican: It is not in our DNA to say no to a customer without proposing an alternative solution. We are committed to meeting the needs of our customers and are open to working with other companies to do so.
October: Can you tell us about the first project you brought to October?
Thibaut Dominican: The first project was Compagnie de Phalsbourg!
We already had a corporate finance line with this client but they needed additional financing for land acquisition.
Given the time requirements, it was not possible for us to finance their additional needs so, we reached out to October.
Everything went very fast. First, we had a call conference between Compagnie de Phalsbourg, Arkéa E & I Bank and October to determine the time and operation requirements.
We were pleasantly surprised at the professionalism and flexibility of the October teams. They were able to successfully adapt their scoring criteria to the real estate business and take into account the specification of our client. They made a real effort on understanding the company’s environment and activity.
October: What do you think made you choose October for financing?
Thibaut Dominican: For me, there are two main elements:
– The speed : 3 phone calls between Compagnie de Phalsbourg, Arkéa Bank E & I and October, then a series of 3 questions addressed in stride. Everyone at October showed great responsiveness.
– The flexibility of the financing scheme: their ability to support the client on corporate financing, without guarantee, provide an option for early repayment without fees and being able to provide with the amount proposed by Arkéa Bank E & I (€ 5M).
October: Thank you for your time, Thibaut. Is there anything you would like to add?
Thibaut Dominican: October is a partner identified in our offers and the success of the first operation suggests other great collaborations.