Construction Expertise Powers Assetline’s Development Finance Model
Australia’s non-bank lending sector is becoming increasingly crowded.
And while lenders may offer similar property development finance products, Assetline Capital stands out from the crowd with its in-house development expertise that goes well beyond standard credit checks.
Assetline Capital, part of AltX Financial Group, was founded in 2012 and has funded more than $3.1 billion in property-backed deals across Australia, with a focus on development finance for projects between $5 million and $40 million.
Many larger established lenders have moved to bigger deals while smaller operators struggle to deliver funding certainty, creating a sweet spot for the national lender.
Assetline Capital general manager of development finance Davide Bini said building knowledge is what sets his business apart from the pack.
“We’ve got a team of experts with technical building capability as well as the right credit skills,” Bini told The Urban Developer.
Holding a construction degree plus more than 14 years of banking experience at St George and Commonwealth Bank, Bini brings deep technical and commercial knowledge to the role.
A general manager who was originally a builder leads the team, alongside other credit professionals with development backgrounds.
Construction knowledge like this protects returns for developers and financiers, Bini said.
Recently, Assetline’s in-house team intervened on a Melbourne project where a builder issued variation claims worth nearly 30 per cent of the construction contract sum.
Having agreed to the claims without consulting the lender, the inexperienced developer faced significant potential increased costs.
Reviewing the claims, Assetline found the builder had not actually spent the extra money claimed, saving the developer around $200,000—an intervention that highlights the value of technical oversight.
His team, with the help of Quantity Surveyors, can check what builders claim is right or wrong, reviewing building contracts to spot risks that less experienced developers might miss.
“It’s pretty easy for a less experienced developer to be convinced that a contract is the right kind of contract, but they usually favour the builders,” Bini said.
“The skill set within our business allows us to protect the borrower as well as our own funds throughout that process.”
Beyond contract protection, Assetline’s construction expertise shapes how it manages builder cashflow throughout projects.
Assetline can be flexible with budget line payments in a way that traditional banks and larger private credit businesses cannot match.
“The importance of the builder’s cashflow is always measured in our approach,” Bini said. “The builder’s cashflow helps the builder stay solvent, which helps the developer complete the project, which helps the financier get their money back.”
For developers in the $5 million to $40 million range, speed determines project returns, Bini said. Assetline’s development expertise enables faster decisions that directly improve internal rate of return calculations.
Daily credit committee meetings enable fast decisions from a non-hierarchical team working in the same office.
“And there’s always a commercial bent to those decisions—we’re practical, we’re not just following guidelines and credit policies alone,” Bini said. “We have established processes that enable us to fund multiple projects within two weeks from first inquiry to settlement.”
Funding certainty sets Assetline apart from competitors facing capital problems. Drawing on institutional backing, private networks, a strong balance sheet and a robust model, the lender maintains a perfect track record.
“We’ve never failed to fund a project that we’ve approved,” Bini said. “Smaller private credit operators sometimes face settlement delays when capital suddenly becomes unavailable. We don’t.”
Expansion plans cover Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, servicing developers who need to start projects quickly without the strict presale requirements that banks and bank-like private credit businesses require.
“We’ve got the capital availability and we’ve now got the in-house expertise to make the right kind of decisions and fund the right kind of projects,” he said.
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