Large Bridging Loans

What is a large bridging loan?

A large bridging loan is a short-term, property backed lending facility for any amount over £1,000,000.

Of course, there is no set cut off for a large or small loan, but loans over £1m are generally considered large by almost all lenders.

What can a large bridging loan be used for?

These loans can be used for a number of reasons, including:-

• Purchasing a property quickly
• To raise funds to repay property development finance
• Buying an uninhabitable property
• Fixing a broken property chain
• To purchase a property before your own is sold
• Auction finance can be used to complete auction purchases

What interest rate will I pay on my bridging loan?

Our bridging loan rates start at 0.47% per month, with rates between 0.47-0.65% being common. The rate charged depends on the security offered and the loan to value required.

Higher LTVs normally pay slightly higher rates, with applications at 50% LTV and below usually achieving the lowest rates.

Key product features

Key features

Max LTV	Up to 85%
Interest rate	From 0.47% per month
Charge types	1st, 2nd & 3rd considered
Term	1-36 months (maximum 12 months for regulated bridge loans)
Interest type	Added to the loan, deducted or serviced
Completion timescale	5 days – 3 weeks

Criteria

• Residential, commercial property or land acceptable
• Available to individuals, partnerships, LLPs, Ltd companies, offshore companies, foreign nationals and pension funds
• Minimum applicant age 18 years – no maximum age
• Available in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Adverse credit accepted (on a case by case basis)
• We assess all bridge loans on an individual basis

What other fees are charged on large bridging loans?

When taking out a new bridging loan, your application will usually be subject to fees, often including some of the following:

Lender arrangement fee – This fee is usually 1% of the loan amount for larger loans and is charged when the funds are released by the lender. This fee is usually added to the loan.

Lender exit fee – Some lenders charge an exit fee on their bridge loans. This fee is usually between 1 month’s interest and 1.5%. On larger loans over £1 million, we can usually avoid this fee altogether.

Broker fee – Many brokers charge a fee for their service, even on larger loans. We never charge a fee for large bridging loans.

Valuation fee – The valuation fee (also known as a survey fee) is a fee paid to a chartered surveyor of the lender’s choice. The cost can vary, and tends to vary depending on the value and type of security offered.

Legal fees – Borrowers pay both the lenders legal costs and their own. These fees vary depending on many factors, with the loan size and property value being a big driver.

Can I get a better deal if I’m borrowing more?

Yes, when it comes to large bridge loans over £1 million, you’ll usually benefit from lower arrangement fees and may also achieve lower interest rates.

These points are usually negotiated individually. Standard arrangement fees are usually 2% of the loan amount. This would usually come down to no higher than 1% on larger loans.

What documents will I need to provide for large bridging loans?

When applying to your chosen lender, you will usually be asked to provide the following:

• Proof of ID
• Proof of address
• Details of your exit strategy
• Proof of income (if you’ll be servicing the monthly interest)
• Details of planned refurbishment works and their costs (where you’ll be undertaking development of the security property)
• Funds to be used to pay the valuation fee
• Details of your existing mortgage (for second charge applications)
• A completed assets and liabilities summary

Are large bridging loans regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority?

These bridge loans are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) when they are secured against a property that you or a family member have ever, or will ever live in.

That means that some large bridging finance applications are FCA regulated while others are not.

What exit strategies do you accept for large bridging loans?

Your exit strategy is simply your plan for repaying the bridging finance at the end of the term. Acceptable exit strategies include:

• Sale of the security property
• Refinance to a residential mortgage or buy to let mortgage
• Refinance to development finance
• Refinance to another bridging loan (if there is a good reason to do so)

We can consider any reasonable exit strategy.

How to get a large bridge loan

There are a lot of lenders in the bridging loan market, and each lender has their own niche. For larger loans, it’s important that you work with a lender who’s comfortable offering large loans.

Although most lenders have high theoretical maximum loans, there can be a big difference in how comfortable they are at this level.

A specialist broker’s job is to secure you the best possible terms and to work with yourself and the lender to ensure that your bridging loan application runs smoothly.

On larger transactions over £1 million, there is often a greater degree of negotiation that goes into an application. Working with a broker who is experienced in these things and has contacts to leverage to secure you a better deal can result in you getting a better deal.

We never charge fees on large bridging loans, but some brokers do – so be careful of paying out fees that add additional cost. Our experienced team are on hand to arrange your large bridging loan.

Who can take out large bridging loans?

We can arrange bridging loans for the following borrowers:

• Individuals
• Non-UK based individuals
• Partnerships
• Pension funds
• Limited companies
• Offshore companies

What loan term can I get?

We can offer any term from 1-18 months. When lending against your primary residence, your loan term will be limited to a maximum of 12 months due to regulated bridging loan rules.

Can you lend to borrowers with bad credit history?

Yes, we have a number of lenders who are able to offer bridging loans to those with previous credit issues including defaults, CCJs, mortgage arrears, IVAs, bankruptcies and repossessions.

You don’t need to have a high credit score to qualify for bridging finance. Instead, lenders focus on your chosen exit strategy (how you will repay the money at the end of the term).

If you’re unsure if you’ll qualify, get in touch now and one of our bridging loan experts will talk through your options.

What can I borrow against?

We can arrange bridging loans against the following security types:

• Houses
• Care homes
• Property refurbishment projects
• Housing developments
• Planning gain applications
• Hotel developments
• Apartments (single or block)
• Office blocks
• Factories and industrial units
• Leisure facilities
• Land – with or without planning

If you need a bridging loan with a different security type, get in touch and we’ll let you know if we can help.

Do you have a maximum loan?

Unlike many providers, we can lend with no strict upper limit. Through our access to the whole bridging loan market, including specialist lenders and private finance lines, we can fund your enquiry, no matter how large.

We consider anything over £1,000,000 as a large loan.

What loan to value (LTV) can you offer on bridging loans?

We can offer bridge loans up to 75% loan to value (LTV). Where refurbishment will be taking place, we can usually also lend the cost of the works.

Where needed, we may be able to lend 80% LTV on larger loans, where required.

Large bridging finance FAQs UK

Check out some of the key bridging loan questions that we’re commonly asked.

How do large bridging loans differ from smaller loans?

There are a number of specialist lenders who offer larger loans, often to applicants with more complex personal circumstances.

Although most lenders will accept loans between £5-10,00,000, it may be better to use a lender who specialises in larger loans.

This is because this level of lending to one client can be seen as a large risk to some bridging loan lenders and, as such, the process can become difficult.

As the size of the loan increases, the amount of due diligence required by the lender will generally also increase.

Regardless of the lender chosen, we will assign you with an expert who is experienced in dealing with larger loans to manage your application from start to finish.

You will be able to speak with your advisor from start to finish throughout the process. Where your planned exit route is refinance, they can also help with your remortgage application.

Do your funders have set criteria for larger applications?

We work with numerous lenders, all of whom have different criteria for lending.

As the loans become larger, applications tend to be underwritten on a bespoke basis. If an application makes good business sense, we can probably lend.

How quickly can I draw down funds when taking out bridging finance?

Large bridging loans tend to have an added layer of complexity due to their size. Even so, we are still usually able to complete these bridging loans in two weeks, where valuations are possible within that time. If your application is particularly urgent, get in touch now and one of our specialist advisers will be able to get your application moving immediately.

Where needed, we may be able to lend 80% LTV on larger loans, where required.