Bridging loans are a form of short-term finance for making property purchases. They’re often used to bridge a gap between a homeowner buying a new house and selling an old one, or to fund the purchase of an auction property which will be sold on soon afterwards. Banks and mainstream lenders don’t tend to offer bridging loans, so we round up the main players in the UK market.
Compare bridging loans and rates
Table: sorted by monthly interest rate
Overall representative example for regulated bridging loans
If you borrowed £214,000 over a 1-year term at 8.96% p.a. (fixed), you would make 12 monthly payments of £1,628.48 and pay £233,541.76 overall, which includes interest of £15,441.76, a broker fee of £0.00 and a lender fee of £4,100. The overall cost for comparison is 11.5% APRC representative.
Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
A list of bridging loan companies
The following companies offer bridging loans. Below we have written a short summary for each one and the basics of the bridging loans that are on offer.
Greenfield Mortgages
Greenfield has been lending since 2009, and specialises in bridging loans. The company operates in England and Wales, offering loans of between £26,000 and £5 million. Maximum LTV is 70% and terms of up to 12 months are available. Funds can be released within seven days and there are no minimum income requirements.
LendInvest
Founded in 2008, LendInvest is a property finance company, with its loan book funded by big institutional investors. Its products range from buy-to-let mortgages to bridging loans, and you can apply to LendInvest through a broker or directly. Bridging loans go up to a maximum of £15 million and a 75% LTV.
Funding 365
Funding 365 is one of the UK’s largest independent bridging lenders, and has been in the market since 2013. It offers bridging loans of between £100,000 and £10 million, and a LTV of up to 75%. Its loan terms vary from three months up to 24 months, and you can contact this provider either directly or through a broker.
Masthaven Bank
It may have gained its banking licence in 2016, but digital bank Masthaven has actually been offering secured lending and bridging loans since 2004. You can only access Masthaven Bank’s bridging loans through a specialist broker (its website will direct you to a search for one in your local area). Bridging loans of up to £1 million are available for a term of up to 18 months.
Oblix Capital
Development and bridging finance specialist Oblix Capital was established in 2014. It offers different types of bridging loan, which range from £50,000 to £5 million in value, based on a maximum LTV of 75%. Oblix Capital has a focus on property developers and investors, and says that it can give a Decision in Principle on a bridging loan in three hours.
Octopus Real Estate
Active in the market since 2005, Octopus Real Estate provides both residential and commercial bridging loans through brokers. On the residential side, loans can go up to 70% LTV on a term of up 23 months. It’s a similar story on the commercial side, with a maximum LTV of 70% on a term of up to 24 months, and a maximum loan value of £25 million.
Tuscan Capital
Tuscan Bank provides short-term bridging finance for properties in England and Wales. It only deals with unregulated, commercial bridging loans, so isn’t able to offer residential bridging loans to home owners. It focuses on applications from broker and investors, with loans starting from £150,000, up to a maximum 75% LTV.
United Trust Bank
United Trust Bank is a specialist UK lender with a bridging loans division, which is broker-focused. The bank’s loans are available to individuals (there is no upper age limit), as well as to corporate and trust borrowers. It offers loans starting at £75,000, up to a maximum of £15 million, with a maximum LTV of 60%. Loans are available for properties in England, Scotland and Wales, on both a first and second charge basis, with interest calculated daily.We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you.
