Commercial bridging loans
UK commercial bridging finance is short-term (3 to 24 months), asset-backed lending for time-sensitive deals. Typical uses: auction property completions inside 28 days, refurbishment-to-let or refurbishment-to-sell, chain breaks, refinance bridges, and transitional facilities while a longer-term commercial mortgage is arranged. Tickets £100,000 to £10m+ on first-charge property security, typical LTV up to 75%. Specialist UK bridging lenders price on LTV and clarity of exit, not borrower credit history, and can fund inside 5 to 21 days.
Director, FundBiz
Oliver leads FundBiz's specialty finance comparison and matching engine. With a background in UK commercial finance, he oversees lender partnerships, eligibility logic and post-decline routing.
Last reviewed: 26 April 2026
At a glance
- Ticket size
- £100,000 to £10m+
- Typical LTV
- Up to 75% (lower for non-vanilla assets)
- Term
- 3 to 24 months
- Typical rate
- 0.55% to 1.5% per month
- Decision
- 3 to 7 business days (faster on clean deals)
- Exit
- Sale, refinance to long-term, or asset disposal
When bridging fits
- Auction purchase. 28-day completion impossible via mainstream commercial mortgage.
- Chain break. Buyer's existing finance falls through; bridge to keep the deal alive.
- Refurbishment to let. Acquire and refurbish, then refinance onto a long-term mortgage at the increased valuation.
- Below-market purchase. Distressed sale at below-market price; speed beats rate.
- Inheritance / probate. Bridge against an asset coming through probate.
When it does not
Bridging is expensive. Per-month rates of 0.7% to 1.2% work out to APRs above 10% even before arrangement and exit fees. The right question is not "can I bridge?" but "what is my exit?" If you cannot evidence the exit, do not bridge.
Lenders we route to
Specialist bridging lenders only: MFS, Octopus Real Estate, Hope Capital, Roma Finance, Together Money, Precise Mortgages (commercial bridging arm), plus institutional bridging lenders for larger tickets.
Sense-check the cost
Bridging is short-term, fee-heavy and only pencils out when the exit is clean. Stress-test the monthly cost against your interim cashflow before applying.
- Bridging total cost calculator Gross vs net advance, retained vs rolled vs serviced interest, fees, true cost over the days you actually hold it.
- Affordability ratio DSCR-style check that the bridging monthly is covered without straining the operating business.
- Working capital cycle Map the gap the bridge actually has to span: DSO, inventory, payables.
Apply
Open bridging eligibility checker →Last reviewed: 26 April 2026.