Commercial Bridging Loans London
Acquire a vacant or value-add commercial property on a 12 to 24 month bridge, refurbish or re-let it, then term out onto a long-term commercial investment mortgage. £500K to £10M typical. Bridge interest rate 0.70 to 0.95% per month, term-out 6.5 to 8.5% pa once stabilised. Repayment serviced monthly or rolled up. Limited company SPV structures supported.
Bridge term
12 to 24 months
Bridge rate
0.70 to 0.95% pm
LTV (bridge)
Up to 70%
Term-out
6.5 to 8.5% pa
What is bridge-to-let and when does it make sense?
Commercial bridging is a two-stage facility. The first stage, the bridge, funds acquisition of a commercial property that is not immediately fundable on a long-term mortgage: vacant, partly tenanted, mid-refurbishment, or with an unsigned lease at the point of purchase. The second stage, the term-out, refinances the bridge onto a standard commercial investment mortgage once the asset is income-producing and the ICR test passes.
Bridges typically run 12 to 24 months, with interest serviced monthly or rolled up into the loan balance, which is useful where the asset produces no income during the bridge period. Bridge loan-to-value runs up to 70% of current value, sometimes higher against day-one purchase price with separate funding for refurbishment costs. Bridge interest rates currently sit at 0.70 to 0.95% per month, equivalent to 8.5 to 11.0% pa. That is meaningfully more expensive than long-term debt, and it is still the right answer for a 12-month value-add play where no term lender will engage on the day-one position.
The agreed exit onto term debt is the underwriting comfort. Specialist lenders such as LendInvest, Shawbrook, Together, OakNorth and Hampshire Trust either provide both legs, on a pre-agreed transfer, or partner with a sister term lender. We model the all-in cost across the bridge period plus the term-out so you see the true total cost of the strategy before drawdown, not after. Term-out pricing back to 6.5 to 8.5% pa.
Most commercial bridging is taken out by a limited company SPV with director personal guarantee and is unregulated commercial lending rather than a residential mortgage. Commercial bridging on business property sits outside the Financial Conduct Authority's regulated mortgage perimeter, and we do not hold FCA authorisation because the products we arrange are unregulated. The exception is where the bridge is secured against a property with a residential element the borrower will personally occupy, which falls inside the regulated perimeter and routes to a regulated firm. Stamp duty land tax applies on the day-one purchase at standard commercial rates and is paid by the buyer at completion of the bridge, not at term-out, because term-out is a refinance rather than a fresh purchase. That timing matters for cash-flow planning, because the SDLT sits alongside the bridge deposit at the front end.
From auction or off-market acquisition to stabilised investment
1. Strategy review
We review the asset, the refurbishment or re-letting plan and the target term-out exit. All-in cost modelled: bridge interest, bridge fees, term-out arrangement and the full valuation set.
2. Bridge terms in 48 hours
Bridge LTV, interest rate, term and fees from three specialist desks, plus indicative term-out terms for the stabilised position.
3. Bridge completion
A bridge can complete in 2 to 3 weeks on clean cases, which is what makes a 28-day auction contract achievable. Asset acquired, SDLT paid at completion.
4. Refurbishment or re-letting phase
You execute the plan over 6 to 18 months. The property stabilises into an income-producing asset with commercial leases or ASTs in place.
5. Term-out refinancing
Once let on valid leases, refinance onto a term mortgage at 6.5 to 8.5% pa. The ICR test passes on the stabilised rent roll.
6. Bridge redeemed
The bridge is redeemed from the term-out drawdown and the exit is complete. You move onto a long-term repayment schedule.
Deal types where short-term commercial debt is the right tool
- Investors buying vacant office floorplates for refurbishment and re-letting
- Semi-commercial conversion deals on borough high streets being upgraded for AST tenancies
- Industrial unit acquisitions from receivers or administrators needing 6 to 12 months of works
- Trading-business operator buyouts where the new operator needs twelve months of accounts first
- Auction-bought commercial assets on a 28-day completion clock that no term lender can meet
- Change-of-use deals where consent is in place but works must run before a tenant will sign
- Distressed acquisitions where speed of completion is the negotiating lever
Value-add territory across the capital in 2026
LendInvest, Shawbrook, Together, OakNorth and Hampshire Trust are the most active commercial bridging desks for London deals between £500K and £10M. London is where short-term commercial debt does the most work, because this is where the auction rooms are and where competitive tension on a good asset is highest. A 28-day completion clock in an auction contract is not negotiable and no term lender will meet it, so speed is the product rather than a feature of it. The value-add territory in 2026 runs through older secondary office stock around the City fringe and Zone 2, where the gap between refurbished prime space and tired floorplates has widened enough to create genuine acquisition opportunities; semi-commercial parade refurbishment across Hackney, Newham and Lambeth; industrial and last-mile units in the west London belt and the Lea Valley; and change-of-use plays inside the Opportunity Areas designated under the 2021 London Plan, each of which is required to support a minimum of 5,000 new jobs or 2,500 new homes. Areas such as Stratford, Nine Elms, King's Cross and Bankside generate steady bridging enquiry flow because the surrounding secondary stock reprices as each scheme lands.
Commercial Bridging FAQs
Other Commercial Mortgage Services
Exploring Commercial Bridging for your London property?
Free-of-charge scheme assessment. Indicative terms within 48 hours.