Build it
Build it
Development finance
Ground-up, conversion and part-built schemes, from site purchase to exit.
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Development finance
Which cap binds, loan to cost or loan to GDV, and the real day-one equity.
Build to Rent development
Underwritten on stabilised yield and DSCR, not sales rate.
Mezzanine and stretched senior
The gap between senior LTC and what you can fund, and the true blended cost.
Heavy refurbishment and conversion
Where refurbishment stops being a bridge: structure, change of use, drawdowns.
Part-built and rescue finance
Valuing an unfinished asset when the contractor has gone.
Bridge it
Bridge it
Bridging finance
Short-term debt where the deadline, the asset or the exit will not wait.
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Purchase bridge
Completing before the money is in place: chain breaks, tight deadlines, unmortgageable stock.
Development exit finance
Off development debt at a lower rate, to buy sales time and release equity.
Auction finance
A 28-day clock, and what must be in place before the hammer falls.
Pre-planning and planning gain
Lending against current value with planning upside.
Below market value purchase
Day-one lending against open market value rather than price.
Second charge and capital raising
Raising against existing assets, and first-charge consent.
Light refurbishment finance
Bridge plus refurb tranche, and where the development boundary sits.
Also structuredBridge to let and refinance
Hold it
Hold it
Mortgages and term finance
Long-term debt against income, once the asset is built, let or trading.
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Buy to let mortgages
ICR stress testing, limited company against personal, portfolio rules.
HMO mortgages
A higher cover test, licensing, and the two valuations a lender takes the lower of.
Commercial term, investment
Tenant covenant and lease term, and why DSCR sets the loan.
Commercial term, owner-occupier
Trading accounts and EBITDA rather than rent roll.
Portfolio refinance
Cross-collateralisation, and one facility against individual loans.
Stabilisation and term refinance
The income test replacing the GDV test, and the letting void before term debt engages.
Co-living and PBSA
An operational asset valued on income, and the operator covenant.
Run it
Run it
Business finance
Funding the business behind the property, secured on the ledger, the equipment or the covenant.
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How we work
Case studies
Articles
Tools
Development finance calculator
Size the facility against site cost, build cost and GDV.
Development exit calculator
Refinance the development facility and release equity at PC.
Bridging finance calculator
What a bridge costs, and what actually clears on day one.
Refurbishment finance calculator
Fund the purchase and 100% of the works, with interest rolled to exit.
BTL rental cover calculator
The rent a buy to let must achieve to clear a lender's cover test.
Commercial mortgage calculator
What a commercial property's income will support, and what it costs.
About
Enquire now
Bridge it › Bridge to let and refinance
The usual way a bridge fails is not the bridge. It is the refinance. A property is bought quickly on short-term money, works are done, and only then does anyone test whether a term lender will actually take it at the value and the rent assumed. If the answer is no, the exit has to be rebuilt with a redemption date approaching.
Bridge to let addresses that by agreeing both halves at the same time. The bridge funds the purchase and the works; the term facility that replaces it is underwritten at the outset, on the rent the finished property is expected to produce, against the coverage the term lender will actually apply.
The trade is flexibility. A combined arrangement is usually with one lender or one group, so you give up the ability to shop the term facility on the open market later in exchange for knowing today that the exit exists. Whether that is a good trade depends on how tight the numbers are.
Cost the bridge half before the term facility is agreed.
Both halves underwritten together
The term lender's rental coverage test is applied before the bridge completes, not after the works finish, so the exit is a known quantity rather than an assumption.
The rent evidenced at the specification you are delivering
Comparable lettings for the finished product. An assumed rent that the market does not support is the single most common reason a bridge to let exit fails its own test.
The works scoped so the term lender will lend
Term lenders have views on what they will take: room counts, HMO licensing, EPC ratings and layout all matter. Building something the exit lender will not touch is an avoidable and expensive mistake.
Priced across both halves
The right comparison is the total cost of the bridge plus the term facility against arranging each separately. Sometimes the combined product wins on certainty and loses on price, and that should be a decision rather than an accident.
Which lenders play here
A limited group of lenders offering a genuinely combined product, plus the conventional route of arranging a bridge and a term facility separately with the exit agreed in principle first. The second is usually cheaper and always less certain.
Indicative, and not an offer. What a lender will actually do depends on the scheme, the borrower and a full valuation.
What to have ready
Bring these and we can tell you where you stand.
Each one is something a lender will ask for. Having it early is the difference between a fast answer and a slow one.
✓The property, the price, and the works you intend
✓The rent you expect, with comparable lettings evidence
✓Ownership structure: personal or limited company, and why
✓EPC rating now and after works, and any licensing that applies
✓Your contribution and where it is coming from
✓How long you intend to hold, because that changes which term product fits
Related
Worth reading on this
Article
Refinancing Mid-Build: Why, When, and How?
Case study
£1.2m Semi-Commercial Bridge and Refinance to Commercial Mortgage
Article
How Bridging Works: Term, Interest and the Exit
Next
Related in this pillar.
Purchase bridge
Completing before the money is in place: chain breaks, tight deadlines, unmortgageable stock.
Development exit finance
Off development debt at a lower rate, to buy sales time and release equity.
Light refurbishment finance
Bridge plus refurb tranche, and where the development boundary sits.
Common questions
The questions this product raises.
What is a bridge to let?
A bridge and the term mortgage that replaces it, agreed at the same time. The bridge funds the purchase and the works. The term facility is underwritten at the start, on the rent the finished property should produce and against the test the term lender will actually apply. You know the exit exists before you buy.
Why do bridge to let exits fail?
Usually because of the rent. A rent the local market does not support is the most common reason the refinance fails its own cover test. The second is building something the term lender will not take. Room counts, HMO licensing, EPC rating and layout all matter to that lender, so the works are scoped with it in mind.
Is a combined bridge to let cheaper than arranging the two separately?
Usually not. A combined product is normally with one lender or group, so you give up the chance to shop the term facility later, in return for certainty now. Arranging the two separately, with the exit agreed in principle first, is usually cheaper and always less certain. Which is better depends on how tight the numbers are.
What will the term lender want to see before the bridge completes?
Comparable lettings for the finished property at the specification you are delivering, the EPC rating now and after the works, any licensing that applies, and whether you will hold personally or through a limited company. How long you plan to hold matters too, because it changes which term product fits.
Bring us the detail.
Send what you have. We will tell you what is fundable and what needs work before anyone approaches a lender.
Specialist property finance for developers who want the numbers to survive underwriting.
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Fundingwise Limited is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and arranges unregulated finance only. That means lending secured against commercial property, or against residential property that is not, and will not be, occupied by the borrower or an immediate family member as a main residence. We do not advise on or arrange regulated mortgage contracts or regulated bridging loans. Because this finance is unregulated, FCA conduct rules and access to the Financial Ombudsman Service do not apply. Fundingwise Limited is registered in England and Wales, company number 13750788.