Bridging Finance Guides
What bridging costs, what a lender needs to see before they will price it, and where it beats a mortgage. Written by the brokers who place the cases.
Bridging is short-term property finance, usually three to eighteen months, secured against property and repaid from a defined event rather than from monthly income. That event, the exit, meaning how you will actually pay it back, is what lenders scrutinise hardest, and it is where most declined applications fail.
Bridging rate guides
- Auction Finance Rates0.65%-1.20%/mo
- Bridging Loan Ratesfrom 0.55%/mo
- Bridging Loan Rates by Lendernamed lender table
- Bridging Rates Scotland0%-0.10% premium
- Business Bridging Loan Ratesfrom 0.65%/mo
- Commercial Bridging Loan Ratesfrom 0.75%/mo
- Refurbishment Bridging Ratesfrom 0.75%/mo
- Regulated Bridging Rates+0.10%-0.25%
Start here
If you have not used bridging before, read the complete guide first, then the exit strategies guide. Those two cover most of what catches first-time borrowers out.
If you are comparing bridging against a mortgage, the comparison guide sets out where the crossover point sits. Bridging is more expensive per month but available in days rather than weeks, and for a purchase with a deadline that trade is often the whole decision.
Regulated and unregulated
If the security is your own home, or a home you intend to live in, the loan is regulated by the FCA and you get the full suite of consumer protections including access to the Financial Ombudsman. If the security is an investment property, it is not.
Regulated bridging costs roughly 0.10% to 0.25% more per month, which is a small premium for the protection. The regulated bridging rates guide covers the distinction properly.
Bridging guides in full
- Bridging Finance for the Care Sector
- Bridging vs Mortgage: When to Use Each
- Development Exit Finance: The Complete Guide
- First-Time Bridging Borrower's Checklist
- How Bridging Loan Exit Strategies Work
- Pre-Planning Bridging Loans: The Developer's Guide
- Refurbishment Bridging Finance: The Complete Guide
- The Complete Guide to Bridging Loans in the UK
- The Investor's Guide to HMO Bridging Finance
Frequently asked questions
What is a bridging loan?
A short-term loan secured against property, typically for one to twenty-four months, repaid from a specific event such as a sale or a refinance rather than from monthly income. Rates start from 0.55% per month.
How fast can a bridging loan complete?
Seven to fourteen working days is normal on a clean case with a straightforward title. Three to five days is achievable where a lender will accept a desktop valuation and the solicitors are ready. Title problems, leasehold complications and slow legals are what push it out to four weeks.
What is an exit strategy and why does it matter?
The exit is how the loan gets repaid: a sale, a refinance onto a term mortgage, or an inbound receipt such as a probate distribution. Bridging is not serviced from income, so the exit is the lender's only route to repayment. An exit the lender cannot evidence is the single most common reason a bridging application is declined.
What LTV can I get on a bridge?
Up to 75% of open market value on a first charge against standard residential security, and up to 80% on some products where interest is retained. Second charge and commercial security typically cap at 65% to 70%. Net LTV after retained interest and fees is always lower than the headline.
Can I get bridging with bad credit?
Usually yes. Bridging is secured on the asset and repaid from the exit, so historic credit problems matter far less than on a mortgage. Expect to pay more, typically 0.15% to 0.40% per month above a clean case, and expect the lender to look harder at the exit.
What does a bridging loan actually cost in total?
Interest at 0.55% to 1.5% per month, an arrangement fee of 1% to 2%, a valuation fee of £300 to £1,500, and legal fees of £1,500 to £3,000 covering both sides. On a £500,000 twelve-month bridge at 0.75% the interest alone is £45,000. The rates guide carries a full worked example.
Send us the case
Amount, security, purpose and exit is enough to get indicative terms back the same working day, with a lender shortlist and a realistic timeline. No upfront fees on loans over £1m.