Short-term funding where timing matters more than cost, and where waiting for a term facility would lose you the opportunity.
Indicative terms
- Facilities from around £100,000 into the tens of millions
- Commonly up to 60% loan-to-value on commercial security
- Terms typically up to around three years, though most bridge for months rather than years
- Interest usually rolled up rather than serviced monthly
- Completion in days to weeks rather than months
When bridging is the right answer
- Auction purchases where completion is fixed at 28 days and no term lender will move that fast
- A practice or premises opportunity that will not wait for a full commercial mortgage process
- A premises chain break where you are buying new business premises before selling existing ones
- Property that will not currently support term lending: a closed care home, unregistered premises, a building needing works before it is mortgageable
- Registration timing, where completion must happen before a regulatory registration or variation can be secured
That last one is specific to healthcare and comes up more than people expect, particularly in care home acquisitions where the registration and the conveyancing rarely align neatly.
The exit is everything
Bridging is expensive money with a defined end date. Every lender’s first question, and the one you should ask yourself before anything else, is how it gets repaid.
For healthcare cases the exit is usually one of three things: refinance onto a commercial mortgage once the property or business qualifies, sale of an asset, or completion of works that make the property mortgageable.
A bridge without a credible, evidenced exit is not a funding solution. It is a deferred problem with interest attached. We will not arrange one where the exit does not stand up, and you should be wary of anyone who will.
Cost
Bridging is priced monthly rather than annually, and the headline rate is only part of it. Arrangement fees, exit fees, valuation and legal costs all matter, and on a short bridge they can exceed the interest.
Compare the total cost of the bridge against the value of the opportunity it secures. Where a bridge costs a few tens of thousands and secures a practice worth considerably more, the arithmetic is straightforward. Where it is being used to solve a cash flow problem, it usually is not the right product.
Regulation
We arrange unregulated bridging only: lending for business purposes secured on commercial property. Unregulated bridging is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Where a case would require regulated bridging, for example where your home or a family member’s home would be the security, we will tell you and point you to someone who can help.
Common questions
How quickly can a bridge complete?
Days to weeks depending on the security and the legal position. Auction cases are routinely completed inside 28 days. Having solicitors instructed early is usually the difference.
Do I need to service the interest monthly?
Usually not. Interest is commonly rolled up and repaid with the capital at exit, which suits a purchase where the asset is not yet generating income.
Can I bridge a care home purchase?
Yes, and it is a common use where the registration timing does not align with completion. The exit is a term facility once trading and registered. See care home acquisition finance.
All figures are indicative and subject to lender assessment, your circumstances, valuation and prevailing market conditions. Commercial mortgages and unregulated bridging loans are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Property offered as security may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments.