Development finance for a first-time developer
Most development lenders want to see a scheme you have already finished, which is no use when this is the first. 16 of the 51 development lenders on our panel will consider a first-time developer, and every one of them asks the same thing in place of a track record: who on the team has done this before, and how much of your own money is in the land.
We arrange finance for UK limited companies and LLPs through the development lenders that consider a first scheme, and we say early if a heavy refurbishment through a bridging lender is the more realistic first step. Free to you, and nothing goes anywhere without your say-so.
Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or any other debt secured on it. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home or property.
The first-time developer panel in numbers
Distinct lenders on our panel with a live product for each feature. Development is the smallest field; refurbishment is the door most first schemes go through.
16
of 51 development lenders will consider a first-time developer
35
of 53 bridging lenders fund heavy refurbishment, the usual first scheme
27
development lenders fund planning gain, buying land before consent
16
bridging lenders lend on land with planning permission
Counts are distinct lenders on our panel with at least one live product matching the criterion, checked September 2026. Panel composition changes over time, and meeting a criterion is not an offer: every case is subject to the lender's own checks.
What rates run at on our panel
Development pricing and loan limits across the products on our panel, cleaned of outliers. A first scheme should be planned at the cautious end of each span.
Annual rate
7% to 18%
median around 9.9% across 74 products; usually rolled up and paid at exit
Maximum loan-to-cost
typically around 85%
range 60% to 100%; the top of the range is for experienced developers
Maximum loan to gross development value
typically around 70%
range 55% to 80%
Spans cover the products on our panel as at September 2026, after removing implausible outliers, and describe the market we place cases into, not an offer to you. Your rate depends on the lender's assessment of your case. Panel composition and pricing change over time, and we arrange rather than advise.
What decides a first scheme
Experience somewhere in the team
A lender that will not underwrite you will underwrite your contractor. A fixed-price contract with a builder who has completed similar schemes, a project manager with a portfolio, or an experienced partner with a share of the profit each substitute for a track record you do not have.
Your equity in the land
The land is what the lender can sell if the scheme stalls. A first-time developer who owns the site outright, or has a large deposit in it, is a different case from one asking the lender to fund the purchase and the build.
Planning already granted
A first scheme should start with full planning consent in hand. Buying before consent is a specialist product, funded by a smaller list at a higher cost, and adds planning risk to construction risk.
The exit, in writing
A development lender is repaid by sale or by refinance onto a term mortgage. Comparable sales for the finished units, or a decision in principle from a buy-to-let or commercial lender, are what turns "we will sell them" into an exit.
The size of the scheme
Two or three units, a conversion of one building, a small infill plot. Lenders open to a first-timer are open to a first scheme of modest size; a twenty-unit block is a second or third project.
The panel behind this page
First-scheme cases go to the 16 development lenders on our panel that consider a first-time developer, and to the 35 bridging lenders that fund heavy refurbishment where that is the better fit, part of 200+ lenders across all products. That range matters more than any single rate: the lender that suits a five-year-old limited company with clean accounts is rarely the one that suits a seasonal business or a director with a past blip, and a broker with a shallow panel has to force your case into whichever box it holds.
Names you may recognise on the panel
Examples from our panel as at September 2026, not an endorsement of any lender and not the full list. We check criteria first and put your case only to lenders whose requirements you fit. The full panel by product is in our lender directory, and how we choose is set out on our how we work page.
Frequently asked questions
Will any lender fund a first-time developer?▼
Yes, from a short list. 16 of the 51 development lenders on our panel will consider a developer with no completed scheme, and each of them wants the experience to be somewhere in the project: a contractor with a fixed-price build contract, a project manager or architect who has delivered the same kind of scheme, or a joint-venture partner who has. Figures checked September 2026; panel composition changes over time.
How much of the cost will a lender fund?▼
Across the development products on our panel the maximum loan-to-cost runs from 60% to 100%, typically around 85%, and the maximum loan to gross development value from 55% to 80%, typically 70% (checked September 2026). A first-time developer should plan for the cautious end of both: more of your own money in the land, and a lender funding the build costs in stages rather than the whole scheme.
What does it cost?▼
Annual rates across the panel's development products run from 7% to 18%, with a median around 9.9% (74 products, checked September 2026). Interest is usually rolled up and paid from the sale or refinance at the end, so the number to watch is the total cost over the term, not the monthly figure. Add an arrangement fee, an exit fee with some lenders, the monitoring surveyor's fees for each drawdown, and the professional fees for the build itself.
Should a first scheme be a refurbishment rather than a build?▼
Often, and it is what we usually suggest exploring first. A heavy refurbishment or conversion of an existing building is funded by 35 bridging lenders on our panel, a far wider field than the 16 development lenders open to a first-timer, and the risks a lender worries about on a ground-up build (groundworks, planning conditions, a long programme) are smaller. One completed refurbishment is a track record.
How much of my own money do I need?▼
More than an experienced developer would. With the loan-to-cost figures above, plan on funding the land purchase largely yourself and having the lender fund the build in stages, so on a scheme costing £700,000 in total (£300,000 of land, £400,000 of build) the equity is £105,000 at the panel's typical 85 percent loan-to-cost and £280,000 at the 60 percent bottom of the range. That is illustrative arithmetic, not an offer; the lender's appraisal of the scheme decides the real number.
Is development finance regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority?▼
Development lending to a limited company or LLP on a property nobody in the borrower's family will live in is generally unregulated. Anything secured on a home you or a relative will occupy is a regulated mortgage contract, which we do not arrange. CapExpand Ltd (FRN 1060885) is an Appointed Representative of White Rose Finance Group Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630772). For property-secured lending we work with UK limited companies and LLPs only, for business and commercial purposes.
Related guides
Important information
CapExpand Ltd (FRN 1060885) is an Appointed Representative of White Rose Finance Group Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630772). We are a credit broker, not a lender, and we do not provide financial, tax or legal advice. We work with a panel of lenders whose particulars are available on request. If a deal completes the lender pays us a commission, at no cost to you; different lenders pay different amounts under different models, and we will tell you the amount for your deal on request. All lending is subject to status, valuation where applicable and the lender's own checks.
Rate and leverage spans are drawn from product criteria on our panel and describe the products, not an offer; a lender's appraisal of the scheme, the team and the exit decides any individual case. We do not arrange regulated mortgage contracts.
Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or any other debt secured on it. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home or property.
Registered office: Pure Offices, Lake View Drive, Annesley, Nottingham, NG15 0DT. Company No. 14433858.
Tell us about the scheme
The site, the planning position, who is building it, what it will be worth finished and what you can put in. We say which lenders will look at a first scheme and whether a refurbishment route gets you there faster.