# Are Bridge Loans Hard to Get in Prime Central London?

Insights article · United Kingdom · Published 2026-10-25

> A bank decline is not a private-lender decline. On a Mayfair or Knightsbridge asset, bridge loans are hard to get only when the exit, the valuation, the title or the funds evidence will not stand up.

A bank has already declined you, or you expect it to. The asset sits in Mayfair, Knightsbridge or Chelsea. The timeline is tight, and the question in your inbox is whether bridge loans are hard to get.

Usually not, provided the security and the exit are clean. On a prime central London file the borrower is rarely the problem. Income, residency and a thin UK credit file are why banks stall, not why a private lender walks away.

We underwrite the property and how you repay us. Those two items decide the file.

> **Why this matters:** A decline on a prime London bridging file usually means the deal, not the borrower, is not yet underwritable.

## Highlights

- On a prime central London asset, the borrower is rarely the reason a private lender says no.
- The four usual causes of a decline: a vague exit, a valuation that lands short of price, defects in the Report on Title, and source-of-funds evidence that cannot be assembled in time.
- We lend against the asset and the exit, not income; we are not a bank and we do not apply an income test.
- Indicative terms: £1M – £100M, up to 75% LTV, 3–24 months, with an indicative term sheet within 24 hours and drawdown typically about two weeks.
- Typical borrowers are property investors, high-net-worth individuals and corporates; all figures subject to valuation and due diligence.
- [Talk to a specialist](https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/contact-us)

## What actually causes a decline

Private credit on [prime London bridging loans](https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/bridging-loans/prime-london-bridging-loans) is an asset-and-exit decision. If you have been told bridging loans are hard to get, it is usually because one of four items will not stand up.

### A vague or unevidenced exit

Saying you will refinance or sell is not an exit. A credible refinance needs a named product and a path a term lender would actually take. A sale needs a realistic price, a marketing period that fits the tenor, and a buyer pool that exists at that level.

Chain-break purchases fail for the same reason: if your own sale is not contracted, the repayment story is still a hope. We wrote about that [when a prime central London vendor will not wait](https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/insights/prime-central-london-chain-break-bridging-loan).

### A valuation that lands short of price

Agreed price is not market value. If the surveyor comes in below the purchase price, the LTV you thought you had disappears. On prime streets that gap is not unusual.

We size to the lower of the purchase price and the valuation, at up to 75% LTV on an indicative basis. You fund any shortfall from equity.

### Defects in the Report on Title

Short leases, defective leases, missing planning consents and restrictions surface here. [HM Land Registry](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry) records the legal estate; it does not cure a short unexpired term or an unconsented alteration.

Short-lease lots are considered case by case, subject to terms, and only where the exit still works at that length.

### Source-of-funds evidence that misses the window

KYC that cannot be assembled inside a two-week drawdown will stop the file as surely as a title defect. That is process, not prejudice.

Foreign principals and offshore SPVs should expect this to take longer than a UK-resident cash buyer. Start the trail before you instruct valuers.

## What makes a Mayfair or Knightsbridge file underwritable

A clean file is specific. Named exit, evidenced. A valuation instruction that does not assume the purchase price. Title a solicitor can stand behind. Funds evidence already in motion.

Eligible security is typically a first charge over residential or mixed-use prime stock. Loan size is £1M – £100M, tenor 3–24 months, and interest is often rolled up, so a monthly cash test does not apply. Drawdown is typically about two weeks once diligence is complete, and an indicative term sheet follows within 24 hours.

If the borrower is a foreign national, an income test is the wrong frame. The work is still on the asset, the exit and KYC. We set out the detail in [why UK banks turn down foreign nationals seeking short-term property finance](https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/insights/why-uk-banks-decline-foreign-nationals-short-term-finance).

Stamp duty on a purchase is a cash item, not a credit item. [Stamp Duty Land Tax](https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax) is payable on completion and needs to sit in the sources-and-uses. We do not give tax advice; we do need to see how SDLT and any ATED position are funded.

## When a bridging loan is the wrong tool

A bridging loan is the right tool when you have a dated exit and a first-charge asset that will still be there if the timetable slips by a few weeks. Auction completions inside 28 days, a chain that will not wait, a refinance that has to complete on a fixed date: those are the jobs for [UK bridging loans](https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/bridging-loans). Our term sheet goes out within 24 hours and drawdown is typically about two weeks.

It is the wrong tool if there is no credible exit inside 3–24 months. The main risk is that you still own the asset when the tenor ends, and you are refinancing or selling into a market that has moved against you.

Cost is higher than a term loan. That is the price of speed, not a reason to ignore the repayment plan. If the lease is too short for any term lender to take out, or planning is unresolved, fix the legal position or change the exit. You can [see how the lending process works](https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/process) before you instruct valuers.

![Knightsbridge terraced houses along a residential street](https://media.rikvincapital.com/rikvin-media/unsplash-1788574222674-4521-1200x630.jpg)
*Knightsbridge stock still needs a dated exit that works at month 24.*

## Fix the file before you apply

Are bridging loans hard to get in prime central London? Usually not, but you will struggle if the exit, the title and the funds trail are not evidenced. Send those three things first. Our term sheet follows within 24 hours, and drawdown is typically about two weeks.

Terms are indicative and subject to valuation and due diligence. We are a direct private lender, not a bank, and our borrowers are typically property investors, high-net-worth individuals and corporates.

The honest test is simple. Would a term lender or a cash buyer take you out on the date you have written down? If you cannot answer that, do not start the clock.

## Frequently asked questions

### Are bridging loans hard to get if a UK bank has already declined me?

Not necessarily. A bank decline on income or residency does not automatically travel. We underwrite the asset and the exit. If those stand up, a prior decline is context rather than a veto. Terms are indicative and subject to valuation and due diligence.

### Will a short lease on a Knightsbridge flat stop the loan?

It can. A short residue is a title issue, not a borrower issue. We need a Report on Title that shows the unexpired term and an exit that still works at that length. Short leases are considered case by case, subject to terms. Do not assume a first charge cures a lease a term lender will never take.

### How fast can you issue a Decision in Principle?

We issue a term sheet, not a bank DIP. An indicative term sheet goes out within 24 hours when the asset, the proposed LTV and the exit are clear. Drawdown is typically about two weeks after that, once valuation, title and KYC are complete. Nothing is approved until diligence is done.

### What if the valuation comes in below the purchase price?

We size to the lower of the purchase price and the valuation, at up to 75% LTV on an indicative basis. You fund the gap from equity. If the gap is too wide, the deal does not work at the price you agreed. That is a decline of the numbers, not of you.

### Can source-of-funds delays kill a two-week completion?

They can. If KYC and source-of-funds packs cannot be assembled inside the drawdown window, the file stops. That is common with offshore SPVs and multi-jurisdiction wealth. Start the evidence trail before you instruct us, not after the term sheet. We cannot complete against incomplete funds evidence.

---

Markdown version of https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/insights/are-bridge-loans-hard-to-get-prime-central-london — provided by Rikvin Capital for AI agents. Site index: https://www.rikvincapital.com/llms.txt