For family offices and ultra-high-net-worth investors, property finance is no longer just about acquiring real estate. In 2025, it plays a central role in liquidity management, balance-sheet optimisation, and long-term wealth structuring.
Many family offices hold substantial residential and mixed-use property portfolios across the UK, Europe, and other core markets. These assets are often acquired with little or no leverage and held for decades. While this approach supports capital preservation, it can also result in large volumes of dormant equity and limited flexibility when capital is required elsewhere.
As a result, family offices are increasingly turning to interest-only, evergreen, and Lombard-style property loans. These structures are not designed for short-term arbitrage or aggressive leverage. Instead, they prioritise flexibility, control, and optionality—allowing property to function as strategic collateral rather than a static asset.
Willow Private Finance advises family offices on how and when to deploy these lending structures, ensuring they align with long-term governance, risk appetite, and investment strategy.
Higher interest rates and tighter regulation have fundamentally changed how sophisticated borrowers use debt. While leverage is more expensive than it was several years ago, access to reliable, flexible capital has become more valuable.
Family offices now prioritise certainty, discretion, and durability over headline pricing. Facilities that can remain in place through market cycles—without forcing amortisation or asset sales—are increasingly favoured.
Interest-only, evergreen, and Lombard-style loans address this need directly. They allow families to unlock liquidity while maintaining long-term control of property assets, even as investment strategies evolve.
Interest-only property loans remain the most widely used structure among family offices. Rather than repaying capital over time, borrowers service interest only, preserving cash flow and flexibility.
In a family office context, interest-only borrowing is rarely speculative. It is typically structured at conservative loan-to-value levels—commonly between 30% and 50%—to ensure resilience and refinancing optionality.
These loans are particularly effective where property income is low or where assets are held primarily for capital preservation. By avoiding amortisation, families retain the ability to deploy capital elsewhere while keeping refinancing risk manageable.
Evergreen property loans take the interest-only concept further. Rather than having a fixed maturity date, these facilities are designed to remain in place indefinitely, subject to periodic review rather than mandatory repayment.
For family offices, evergreen structures are attractive because they align with long-term ownership horizons. Properties held for generational planning are not forced into sale or refinance cycles driven by arbitrary loan terms.
Lenders typically require strong governance, conservative leverage, and high-quality assets to offer evergreen facilities. In return, borrowers gain durable liquidity that behaves more like balance-sheet infrastructure than a traditional loan.
Lombard-style property loans combine real estate security with financial assets such as cash, bonds, or investment portfolios. While traditionally associated with securities-backed lending, this approach has evolved to include property as part of a broader collateral pool.
For family offices, Lombard-style structures can be highly efficient. Property provides stability and long-term value, while liquid assets enhance lender comfort and may improve pricing or flexibility.
These structures are particularly effective for families with diversified balance sheets who want to avoid over-reliance on a single asset class. They also support rapid capital deployment, as drawdowns can be executed quickly against a broader collateral base.
Underwriting flexible property loans is less about maximising leverage and more about assessing durability. Lenders focus on asset quality, borrower governance, and long-term strategy.
Prime and ultra-prime residential property in stable jurisdictions remains the preferred collateral. Lenders also scrutinise ownership structures, succession planning, and decision-making authority—particularly for evergreen and Lombard-style facilities.
Facilities presented as part of a coherent balance-sheet strategy are significantly more likely to be approved than those framed as opportunistic borrowing.
Despite their flexibility, these structures are not highly leveraged. In 2025, blended loan-to-value ratios typically range from 30% to 50%, depending on asset mix and structure.
Lower leverage allows lenders to tolerate open-ended maturities, revolving features, and reduced covenant pressure. For family offices, it ensures that debt remains a tool rather than a constraint.
In many cases, families deliberately borrow well below available limits to preserve optionality and protect future generations from refinancing risk.
Private banks are often the natural home for evergreen and Lombard-style lending, particularly where financial assets are already held on-platform. They can offer competitive pricing and integrated oversight but may require broader asset consolidation.
Specialist lenders play a key role where property structures are complex or privacy is paramount. They may offer greater flexibility on asset ownership and jurisdiction but often at a modest premium.
Willow Private Finance works independently across both channels, ensuring that structure selection is driven by strategy rather than institutional bias.
A common misconception is that interest-only or evergreen loans are aggressive. In reality, these structures are typically used by the most conservative borrowers, precisely because they prioritise flexibility and long-term control.
Another misconception is that Lombard-style loans are only for liquid assets. In modern family office lending, property is increasingly recognised as a core component of hybrid collateral structures.
Willow Private Finance specialises in advising family offices on flexible, long-term property finance structures. We work closely with private banks, specialist lenders, and professional advisors to design facilities that align with governance, succession, and investment strategy.
Our focus is on durability, discretion, and disciplined leverage—ensuring that debt enhances balance-sheet efficiency without compromising long-term objectives.
In 2025 and beyond, interest-only, evergreen, and Lombard-style property loans will continue to grow in relevance. For family offices, these structures represent a shift in mindset: from debt as leverage to debt as infrastructure.
When structured correctly, they provide liquidity, flexibility, and control—without forcing asset sales or undermining generational planning.
Q1: What is an interest-only property loan?
An interest-only loan requires payment of interest only, with capital repaid at a later date or refinanced, preserving cash flow.
Q2: What does an evergreen loan mean?
An evergreen loan has no fixed maturity date and remains in place subject to periodic review, not mandatory repayment.
Q3: How does a Lombard-style property loan work?
It uses property alongside liquid financial assets as combined collateral to support flexible borrowing.
Q4: Are these loans highly leveraged?
No. Most are structured conservatively at 30–50% LTV to ensure resilience and long-term flexibility.
Q5: Are these structures only available to family offices?
They are primarily used by family offices and UHNW borrowers with strong governance and high-quality assets.
Book a free strategy call with one of our mortgage specialists.
We’ll help you find the smartest way forward—whatever rates do next.
About the Author
Wesley Ranger is the Director of Willow Private Finance and has over 20 years of experience advising family offices and ultra-high-net-worth clients on complex property finance. He specialises in interest-only, evergreen, and hybrid collateral structures, working across private banks and specialist lenders to deliver long-term, strategically aligned financing solutions.
Important Notice
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute personal financial, legal, or tax advice. Flexible lending structures involve complex risk considerations and may not be suitable for all borrowers.
Lending availability, eligibility, and terms depend on individual circumstances and lender criteria and may change at any time. Independent legal and tax advice should always be sought before entering into any financial arrangement.
Willow Private Finance Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA No. 588422). Registered in England and Wales.
