Third-Party Security, Age Exception, Payroll Deadline - Somo finds funds for a Day Nursery

19 February 2026

A well-established day nursery in Hertfordshire needed urgent funding to stabilise its position and move forward with confidence.

The Challenge

The business required capital to clear an existing short-term facility, pay off a small amount of personal debt secured against family property and inject working capital to support growth and upcoming wage bills. Timing mattered - payroll deadlines were approaching and the existing facilities were no longer fit for purpose.

The complexity lay in the security.

The property offered as collateral was a residential home owned by the director’s mother, not the borrowing company. That meant third-party security and charge requirements, owner-occupier considerations and an age profile outside standard criteria. The loan also involved mixed-use funds - partly business, partly the redemption of a personal lifetime mortgage.

For many lenders, that combination would have been enough to decline.

But beneath the structure was a strong foundation: an established trading business, clean credit, clear and detailed profit projections, and solid residential security supported by strong comparable sales.

For Somo, this wasn’t a case of “too difficult”, it was a case of structuring the loan properly and quickly.

The Deal

Somo delivered a 12-month first charge facility of £260,000 gross (£218,270 net), secured at 67% LTV against the security property.

The loan consolidated short-term liabilities, redeemed the lifetime mortgage and released capital back into the nursery at a critical moment.

Despite initial Valuer queries and the added layer of third-party security, the fundamentals were clear. With strong comparable evidence, third party charge compliance and funder sign-off secured, the deal progressed smoothly and efficiently to the delight of the business owners.

The Outcome

Funding completed in time to stabilise the business, remove unsuitable borrowing and protect family security.

With profitability projections supporting refinance and clear forward planning in place, the nursery now has the breathing room to grow.

A structured solution, delivered at pace, for a business that simply needed the right lender.

Why make business borrowing difficult?