Five years ago, Enness established its first international office in Monaco in order to best meet demand from high net worth clients in the area to assist with their Monaco property finance needs and challenges. We take a look into Enness’ Monaco mortgage offering, case study highlights, and current trends within the principality.
In 2016, amidst the gathering clouds of the EU referendum, tax changes for UK non-doms and rocketing London property prices, Enness recognised that many foreign nationals would likely be encouraged to purchase elsewhere.
In response to the UK’s shifting political and economic landscape, our aim was to diversify Enness away from the overheating London property market and develop a small position writing high-value French mortgages to some of our UK clients (via Enness Limited, our regulated company).
It quickly became apparent that Enness’s services were hugely interesting to Monaco residents and professional advisers. Whether clients required straightforward high-value property finance or a more bespoke solution to overcome challenges presented by their unique set of circumstances, we soon learned that there was – and remains – a healthy appetite for our Monaco mortgage offering amongst wealthy Monegasque residents.
As a result, in the summer of 2016, we established our first overseas office in the Port de Fontvieille in 2016 to address the growing demand from high net worth clients for support with financing their international property portfolios.
What is Enness’ Monaco Mortgage Offering?
The international nature of the typical Monaco and South of France resident and/or investor meant we started to receive a significant number of requests for UK and international mortgage finance as well as being asked to solve some more local and challenging mortgage requests. In order to provide the best possible service to our clients, our offering is now precisely that.
Our Monaco mortgage offering includes:
- Monaco mortgages for individuals whose unique requirements are not met by the hugely efficient and evolved Monaco mortgage market;
- Mortgages in the South of France, Italy, and Switzerland for global individuals – especially for those with more complex situations or circumstances;
- Generating liquidity for clients who would like to refinance existing arrangements to either release equity or to unlock assets under management;
- Short-term and bridging finance for those who require an interim or transitory solution. There are a number of UK and international bridging finance lenders who will offer Monaco and South of France bridging finance; this is a market in which we expect to see an increase in 2021;
- Mortgage solutions for private client advisers/family offices and other professionals who manage and source global mortgage solution for their clients;
- UK mortgages and European mortgages for residents of the principality;
- Advising local banks to offer mortgages solutions to their clients who are approaching the end of their mortgage term or who no longer meet the criteria of the bank for whatever reason.
We also seek to positively influence the local community through our passionate promotion of the principality, introducing clients into the jurisdiction and supporting and working with the wider private client community. In addition, of course, we are helping the Monaco banks to lend their money both locally and internationally.
Monaco Mortgage Case Study Highlights
Take a look at the below selection of the fantastic cases Enness have completed for our clients, sourced from our Monaco office:
Refinancing property portfolio debt spread across 3 different jurisdictions
International property finance for properties worth €13.5million
€16million Monégasque villa remortgage for foreign national
Monaco Mortgage Market Trends
Our representatives in Monaco have a close ear to the ground to keep ahead of all the latest trends and developments on the Monegasque property market. Most recently, the team has noticed a considerable uplift in the average price of property transactions in the region; there is definitely an increased demand and appetite for larger and more luxurious properties. This in part due to the fact that lending remains highly aggressive both inside Monaco as well as with banks outside of Monaco that lend within the principality. As a result, someone who perhaps couldn’t have afforded a £15 million loan 5 years ago, now can – hence why ticket prices are increasing. Elementary (economics), my dear Watson!
In the wake of the Brexit decision, the team has also reported an increase in demand from Brits, as well as noting that it is becoming more and more difficult for Russian nationals to secure anything in Monaco – whether that be a residence or even a bank account. This is largely due to the challenging feat of clarifying income streams in a manner that satisfies mortgage lenders. For more detail on this, take a look at our most recent case study for a Russian client looking for property finance in Mougins, France, and how we helped him to navigate the barriers in his scenario:
Russian national: equity release on a self-build property in France
Enness’s Plans for the Monaco Region in 2021
Unlike London, Monaco is much more of a face to face word of mouth market and so many in the market do not necessarily make noise about the business they are doing or the business they have. Rather, there are many family offices and law firms that are not widely known to the public but do manage quite a substantial amount of wealth in the principality. As such, one of our key plans for 2021 is to work more closely with these offices and firms as we continue to establish ourselves as the go-to property finance advisor in the region and work cohesively to the benefit of our mutual clientele.
