Since its formation, Yellow Door has worked with Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Investec, Santander and NatWest (both before and after its acquisition by RBS). The company currently maintains accounts with Santander, Investec, Barclays and RBS. Working with these banks, Yellow Door has raised 50% - 70% of the cash required for almost every deal it has undertaken.

There was a time, some years ago, when lending decisions by banks were largely determined by the relationships that existed between bank managers and their customers. Whilst such relationships and personalities still carry weight, the strategic position of the bank and its view of a specific market sector at a particular time can override the opinion of the individual manager, to the frustration of manager and customer alike.

Whilst this is a generalisation, it has certainly been YDP’s experience, albeit occasional, that banks which had previously provided senior debt on favourable terms suddenly and inexplicably lost their appetite for development finance. Conversely, YDP has sometimes been offered senior debt on competitive terms by banks with which it has no track record.

YDP deals with this variability by diversifying its banking relationships. By maintaining accounts with a number of banks, and good relationships with individual managers and their support teams, Yellow Door has always raised the money it needs for its deals and has never had to withdraw from a project due to an inability to raise debt finance.