When bridging actually makes sense
Bridging finance has a reputation problem. Used badly it’s expensive, stressful, and ends in tears. Used correctly — with a clear exit, sensible loan-to-value, and the right lender — it’s a precision tool that opens up deals nothing else can touch. The job of a good broker is to know which side of that line your situation sits on, and to tell you plainly if it’s the wrong tool.
We arrange bridging for a few archetypal scenarios:
- Chain breaks — onward purchase ready to exchange, sale delayed or fallen through. A short bridge buys time without losing the property you’ve set your heart on.
- Auction purchases — 28-day completion is too tight for almost any term mortgage. A pre-agreed bridge gets you to completion, then refinances onto a term product.
- Light refurbishment — properties that need work before they’re mortgageable in their current state. Bridge to complete the works, then refinance once the asset meets standard lender criteria.
- Heavy refurbishment and conversion — staged drawdowns funding works as they progress, often with retained interest rolling up against the facility.
- Second-charge bridging — capital raising against existing equity without disturbing a low-rate first charge.
Exit strategy is the entire game
A bridge without an exit is just expensive debt with a deadline. The first thing we’ll ask is: how does this loan get repaid? If the answer is “we’ll sell within six months” we want to see how the property has been priced, what comparables suggest, and what your fallback is if it takes nine. If the answer is “refinance onto a buy to let mortgage” we run the stress test now, against today’s rates, to confirm the term lender will play ball.
This isn’t pedantry. It’s the single difference between bridging that ends with a profitable exit and bridging that ends with default interest charges and a forced sale. We’d rather decline a case at the first call than arrange a facility that doesn’t stack up.
Working with us on a bridge
A typical bridging conversation starts with a property and a timeline. We’ll look at: loan-to-value the lender will support, exit route credibility, your experience (most lenders look more kindly on landlords or developers with a track record), and the all-in cost of the facility over the realistic term — not just the headline monthly rate.
Where it works, we move fast. Where it doesn’t, we’ll tell you why and, where possible, suggest the alternative — a term product, a different structure, or a different lender entirely. Either answer is more useful than an expensive yes.