How to get a bridging loan
Getting a bridging loan is six steps, and the order matters: the exit comes first, because a lender reads how the loan will be repaid before it reads anything else. Then the property and the loan-to-value, the check against each lender’s published criteria, the valuation and the offer, the legal work, and completion with the charge registered.
We have access to a range of UK commercial finance lenders through our principal, White Rose Finance Group Limited. Each lender publishes its own maximum loan-to-value, term, rate and fees and makes its own decision. Through CapExpand the borrower is a limited company or an LLP and the property is commercial, or residential held as an investment. Think carefully before borrowing. Property or other assets offered as security may be at risk if you cannot keep up repayments.
Step 1: settle the exit
Write down, in one sentence, how the loan will be repaid and when: "sale of the property after refurbishment, on the market by March", or "refinance onto a commercial mortgage once the unit is let", or "sale of the existing premises, already under offer". Then gather the evidence for it: sale particulars or an offer, an agreement in principle from the refinancing lender, the letting agent’s appraisal, the schedule of works. A lender sets the term against the exit, and a bridge is agreed or declined on it.
Step 2: the property and the loan-to-value
The address, the price or the current value, the use and the tenure. Work out the loan-to-value you need: the loan as a percentage of the value. If the interest is to be retained or rolled up, the lender tests the gross loan including the interest for the whole term, so the net sum you receive is smaller than the figure the lender writes. Decide whether the bridge will be a first charge, with any existing mortgage repaid from it, or a second charge behind an existing mortgage that stays in place, which needs the first lender’s consent and is tested on the combined loan-to-value.
For property-secured lending we work with UK limited companies and LLPs only, for business and commercial purposes. A bridge on a property the borrower or a family member lives in is a regulated mortgage contract, which we do not arrange. We arrange finance only once a business has traded for 3 months, for amounts from £10,000.
Step 3: the check against published criteria
Each bridging lender publishes the property types it lends on, its maximum loan-to-value, its minimum and maximum loan and term, whether it takes a second charge, whether it lends on auction purchases, refurbishments or land, and whether it will re-bridge. We read the case against those criteria and set out what each lender that fits offers: the net advance, the term, the monthly rate, the fees and how the interest is handled, side by side. The decision on where the case goes is yours.
Enquiring does not affect your credit score. If you apply to a lender, it runs its own credit search, which may be recorded on your file.
Step 4: the valuation and the offer
The lender issues indicative terms and instructs its own surveyor. On a refurbishment the valuer reports the current value and the value on completion of the works; on an auction purchase a desktop or drive-by valuation is sometimes accepted to meet the timetable, where the lender’s criteria allow it. On a satisfactory valuation the lender issues a formal offer with the conditions to be met before completion. The valuation fee is payable whether or not the loan completes.
Step 5: the legal work
The lender’s solicitors and the company’s solicitors deal with the title, the searches and the security documents: the legal charge, the personal guarantees that are commonly asked for, and on a second charge the consent and the deed of priority with the first lender. On an auction purchase the legal pack is read before the auction, so that the searches and the title are known before the hammer falls and the 28-day completion period, where the contract sets one, is spent on the lender’s documents rather than on discovery.
Step 6: completion and the charge
The lender draws the net advance to the company’s solicitor, the purchase or the refinance completes, and the charge is registered at HM Land Registry and, for a company, at Companies House within the 21 days Part 25 of the Companies Act 2006 allows. From that day the term runs, and the loan is due in full on its last day. Diarise the exit milestones, because a bridge that runs past its term carries default interest and a lender that can enforce.
We will receive commission from lenders. On some cases we also charge a fee, which we set out in writing and agree with you before you proceed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest part to get wrong?
The exit. A lender declines a bridge with no credible repayment, and a bridge that completes on a hopeful exit becomes the borrower’s problem on the last day of the term. Evidence for the exit, gathered before the enquiry, is the one thing that shortens everything else.
Do I need a deposit for a bridging loan?
On a purchase, the difference between the price and the loan the lender’s maximum loan-to-value allows, plus the fees and the retained interest if they are not added to the loan. Each lender publishes its own maximum, so no deposit figure is given here.
Can a bridging loan be used for an auction purchase?
Yes, and it is one of the commonest uses. The contract fixes the completion date, commonly 28 days, and the bridge is arranged to complete inside it with the legal pack read before bidding.
Is bridging regulated?
CapExpand Ltd (FRN 1060885) is a credit broker and an Appointed Representative of White Rose Finance Group Limited (FRN 630772), which is directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are a broker, not a lender. We work with UK limited companies and LLPs only, for business and commercial purposes. If you have a complaint, our complaints page explains how it is handled. A bridging loan secured on a property the borrower or a family member lives in is a regulated mortgage contract, which we do not arrange.
Does enquiring affect my credit score?
Enquiring does not affect your credit score. If you apply to a lender, it runs its own credit search, which may be recorded on your file.
More funding questions answered
- What is mezzanine finance?The layer between the senior debt and the equity: a second charge or a subordinated loan that fills the gap a senior lender will not, on a development or an acquisition.
- What is a business overdraft?A limit on the current account the business draws into and repays at will, charging interest on the overdrawn balance and repayable on demand; arranged with the bank, not a broker.
- What is a management buyout?The purchase of a company by the managers who run it, through a new company funded by senior debt, a vendor loan note and the managers’ own equity.
- What is hire purchase?A business pays for an asset in instalments and owns it after the last payment and the option fee: who owns what and when, VAT and capital allowances.
- What is working capital?Current assets less current liabilities: the working capital cycle in days, how to read the figure from the accounts, and where finance fits.
- What is a term loan?A fixed sum repaid with interest in instalments over an agreed period: the parts of a term loan, amortisation, covenants and events of default.
Start at step 3
The property, the amount, the term and the exit are enough for us to check the case against each lender’s published criteria before anything is sent anywhere.
Sources
Checked 26 October 2026. The steps describe how a bridging case moves; each lender publishes its own criteria, loan-to-value, term, rate, fees and timescale, and nothing on this page is a quote.
Important information
Think carefully before borrowing. Property or other assets offered as security may be at risk if you cannot keep up repayments.
CapExpand Ltd (FRN 1060885) is a credit broker and an Appointed Representative of White Rose Finance Group Limited (FRN 630772), which is directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are a broker, not a lender. We work with UK limited companies and LLPs only, for business and commercial purposes. We do not provide financial advice.