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Bridging Loans UK: The Complete 2026 Guide

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Bridging Loans UK: The Complete 2026 GuidePhoto by Bosh Ar on Unsplash

What is a bridging loan?

A bridging loan is a short-term loan secured against property, designed to cover the gap between a payment you must make now and money that arrives later. The classic case is buying one property before another is sold, but UK borrowers use bridging just as often for auction completions, refinancing deadlines, and releasing equity from an asset ahead of a sale or a longer-term mortgage.

The loan is underwritten against the security property and your exit plan rather than your income, so the assessment centres on the asset and the plan, not on lengthy affordability paperwork.

How bridging loans work in the UK

Every facility has three parts:

  1. The security. A first or second charge over UK property: prime London homes, country houses, commercial buildings, or development assets in England and Wales.
  2. The advance. Up to 75% of the property's value, from £1M to £100M. Valuation is instructed early, and our process issues an indicative term sheet within 24 hours of the first conversation.
  3. The exit. How the loan is repaid: a sale completing, a refinance onto a term mortgage, or a liquidity event. A credible exit is the single biggest factor in pricing and approval.

Interest can be serviced monthly or rolled up, meaning capitalised and settled at the end of the term, so the facility needs zero monthly servicing while it runs. Recent transactions are on our case studies page.

UK bridging loan rates

Private bridging rates in the UK start from 0.7% per month. What moves the rate on a given deal:

  • Loan-to-value: lower LTV, lower rate.
  • The asset: prime, readily saleable property prices tighter than specialist or part-built assets.
  • The exit: a signed sale or an agreed refinance beats an open-market listing.
  • Structure: first charge, serviced interest and shorter terms price lower; roll-up and second charges price higher.

Expect the rate, an arrangement fee, and your own legal and valuation costs. Every number is set out in the term sheet before you commit. See our UK lending services for facility types.

Regulated vs unregulated bridging

UK bridging splits into two worlds. A regulated bridging loan is secured on a home you or your family live in and sits under FCA consumer rules, with the extra process that protection requires. An unregulated bridging loan is secured on investment, commercial or corporate-owned property, and covers most large transactions by companies, trusts and foreign nationals.

Rikvin Capital lends in the unregulated space: large facilities against investment-grade and prime property. That is what allows credit decisions in-house, bespoke structures, and completion in about two weeks.

Who uses bridging finance in the UK

Our typical UK borrower is asset-rich and deadline-driven: owners of prime central London property releasing equity, foreign nationals completing UK purchases through structures a high-street lender cannot process, buyers at auction with a fixed completion date, and business owners raising liquidity against commercial premises. Facilities are available to individuals, companies, trusts and offshore entities.

How fast can you get a bridging loan?

From first call to indicative term sheet: 24 hours. From term sheet to funds: around two weeks, driven by valuation access, title review and legal completion. As a direct lender we make credit decisions in-house; there is no external committee cycle. The five stages are set out in our application process.

Eligibility: what we look at

  • The property: residential, commercial or mixed-use assets in England and Wales, owned personally or through a company, trust or offshore structure.
  • The numbers: facilities of £1M or more at up to 75% LTV.
  • The exit: a sale, refinance or liquidity event within 3 to 24 months.
  • The borrower: individuals, companies, trusts and foreign nationals are all fundable; income documentation is not the gating factor.

If those line up, talk to us and you will have indicative terms within a day.

Get Funding Approval Within 24 Hours

Speak with our specialists about your bridging requirements.

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Frequently asked questions

A bridging loan is a short-term loan secured against property, used to cover the gap between a payment due now and funds arriving later, such as buying before selling or completing an auction purchase. Terms typically run 3 to 24 months and the loan is repaid in one exit event.
Private bridging rates start from 0.7% per month, plus an arrangement fee and your own legal and valuation costs. The rate depends on loan-to-value, the quality of the security property, and the certainty of the exit. Every cost is itemised in the term sheet.
Indicative terms are issued within 24 hours of the first conversation, and funds can be drawn in around two weeks, subject to valuation and legal completion. As a direct lender, we make credit decisions in-house.
Up to 75% of the property's value for UK assets. Lower LTV requests price at lower rates, and both first and second charge structures are considered.
A regulated bridging loan is secured on a home you or your family occupy and sits under FCA consumer protection rules. An unregulated loan is secured on investment, commercial or company-owned property. Large facilities to companies, trusts and foreign nationals are almost always unregulated, which allows faster, more flexible structures.
Yes. Foreign individuals and offshore companies buying or refinancing UK property are core borrowers for private bridging. Underwriting focuses on the asset and the exit rather than UK credit history.
Buying before selling, auction purchases with fixed completion deadlines, refinancing ahead of a term-loan maturity, releasing equity from investment or commercial property, and corporate liquidity secured against real estate.
Through your exit: completion of a sale, a refinance onto a longer-term mortgage, or a maturing liquidity event. Interest is either serviced monthly or rolled up and settled with the principal at the end of the term.

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