Build it
Build it
Development finance
Ground-up, conversion and part-built schemes, from site purchase to exit.
See all →
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.
See all →
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.
See all →
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.
See all →
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
Hold it › Co-living and PBSA
Co-living and purpose built student accommodation are not residential blocks with smaller units. They are operating businesses that happen to own a building, and they are valued and financed as such: on the income the operation produces, not on a comparable per square foot.
That means the operator is being underwritten alongside the asset. Their track record, their systems, the management agreement and what happens if they walk away are all credit questions. A good building with an unproven operator is a harder case than an ordinary building with an established one.
The income itself is also structurally different. Short tenancies, a fixed academic cycle in student accommodation, and gross rents that include services all mean the gap between headline income and the net figure a lender will count is much wider than in conventional residential lending.
Underwritten as an operating asset
Net operating income after a full operating cost load, not gross rent. Staffing, utilities, marketing, voids and turnover costs all sit between the two, and in this sector they are substantial.
The operator and the management agreement
Who runs it, on what terms, for how long, and what happens on termination. A lender is lending against the operation continuing, so the agreement is part of the security package.
Demand evidence specific to the location
University numbers and their trajectory for student schemes; demographics and competing supply for co-living. Sector-wide growth is not evidence for a particular building in a particular town.
The alternative use tested
What the building is worth if the operating model does not work. Where a scheme can convert to conventional residential, it borrows better, and where it cannot, the lender is taking concentrated operating risk and will price for it.
Which lenders play here
Specialist operational real estate lenders and a small number of institutional funders. This is a narrow market that rewards a proven operator and an evidenced location, and it is unforgiving of a first scheme in an unfamiliar town.
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 scheme: bed count, unit mix, specification and amenity
✓The operator, their record, and the management agreement
✓Demand evidence for the location, with competing supply identified
✓A full operating budget: gross income, cost load, net operating income
✓Planning use class and any conditions relevant to operation
✓Your exit: hold, sale to an institutional buyer, or conversion
Related
Worth reading on this
Next
Related in this pillar.
Common questions
The questions this product raises.
How is co-living or student accommodation valued for a loan?
As an operating business that owns a building, not as a block of flats. The lender values it on the net operating income, after staffing, utilities, marketing, voids and turnover costs, not on gross rent or a price per square foot. In this sector those costs are substantial, so the gap between headline income and what a lender counts is wider than in ordinary residential lending.
Why does the operator matter so much to a lender?
Because the lender is lending against the operation continuing. The operator's track record, their systems and the management agreement are all credit questions, including what happens if the operator walks away. A good building with an unproven operator is a harder case than an ordinary building with an established one.
What happens if the operating model does not work?
The lender asks what the building is worth without it. A scheme that can convert to conventional residential borrows better. One that cannot leaves the lender carrying concentrated operating risk, and it prices for that.
What demand evidence will a lender want?
Evidence for this building in this town, not for the sector. For student schemes that means university numbers and where they are heading. For co-living it means local demographics and competing supply. Sector-wide growth figures do not carry a particular scheme.
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.
020 4572 4266LinkedIn
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.