# Part-Sold Schemes: How Unit Release Terms Decide What You Net

Insights article · United Kingdom · Published 2026-10-26

> You are part-way through a sales run and the development facility is due. A bridge can sit over the unsold plots, but the unit-release terms decide what you actually net.

You are part-way through a sales run. Some units have exchanged, a few have completed, and the rest sit on the books. The development facility is coming due, and remaining stock will not clear in time.

A bank often wants a single refinance of a finished block, or a clean sale of the last plot. That is not this shape. You need a facility that can live with a shrinking security pool.

The live question on a part-sold scheme is not whether the product exists. It is how the unit-release schedule is written, because that schedule decides what you actually net.

> **Why this matters:** Release price, minimum release amount, and the order of applying sale proceeds decide whether each completion reduces debt or merely services rolled-up interest as remaining LTV tightens.

## Highlights

- On a part-sold scheme, the unit-release schedule decides what you net, not the headline rate.
- Lenders re-test LTV on remaining unsold plots after every release.
- Sale proceeds may pay rolled-up interest first or principal first; that order changes cash at completion.
- A first charge over remaining units, with a defined minimum release per plot, is the usual structure.
- Indicative terms: £1M–£100M, up to 75% LTV, 3–24 months, indicative term sheet usually within 24 hours. Typical borrowers are property investors, developers and corporates.
- [Talk to a specialist](https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/contact-us)

## How unit releases are handled on a part-sold scheme

When we underwrite a [developer exit bridging loan](https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/bridging-loans/developer-exit-bridging-loans), we size against the current as-is value of the remaining units, and we write a release mechanism into the facility.

Each unit has a release price: the sum that must reach the lender to discharge that plot from the charge. It is not always the sale price. It is often a floor, set either as a fixed figure per plot or as a percentage of net proceeds subject to a minimum.

If the floor sits above what buyers will pay, you cannot complete. If it sits too low, the residual loan hangs too heavy on the last units. That gap belongs in the term sheet, not in a side letter after drawdown.

A first charge over the unsold plots is registered at [HM Land Registry](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry) so each transfer can complete only once the lender has executed a deed of release. Your solicitor runs it through the completion statement. Compare that with a single-asset [residential bridging loan](https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/bridging-loans/residential-bridging-loan), where there is one charge and one exit, not a schedule of plot releases.

## What happens to LTV as units leave the charge

Every release shrinks the security. We re-test LTV on what is left. Sell the best plots first and the residual loan can look worse, even though cash has come in.

Watch how proceeds are applied. Some facilities pay rolled-up interest and fees first, then principal. You can complete three units and still owe almost the same principal.

Ask for the waterfall in the term sheet. For the arithmetic when the campaign is behind, we have set out [how remaining stock is sized on a developer exit](https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/insights/developer-exit-finance-uk-loan-sizing-unsold-stock).

The last units in a block rarely sell at the same pace as the first tranche. A 12-month tenor does not flex for that on its own. The same discipline of asset, charge and a dated exit is what we applied on [bridging finance for a London investment property](https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/case-study/bridging-finance-for-a-london-investment-property).

![Street of new-build houses on a UK housing development](https://media.rikvincapital.com/rikvin-media/unsplash-1788660638063-300.jpg)
*As units leave the charge, LTV is re-tested on what remains.*

## When this bridge is the right tool

A bridging loan of this type fits when remaining units are actually selling, title is clean, and an exit sits inside 3–24 months. That exit is usually further completions, a refinance of the residual block, or a sale of the SPV. We lend against the asset and the exit. Our borrowers are typically property investors, developers and corporates.

It is the wrong tool if absorption has stopped, if plots are defective, or if you need five-year money labelled as a bridge. Cost is higher than a term loan. The main risk is unsold stock meeting a short tenor, with a first charge still sitting on units the market will not take at the release price.

If you want the path from enquiry to funds, [the lending process](https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/process) follows the same steps each time: an indicative term sheet usually within 24 hours, then drawdown in typically about two weeks. All of it is indicative and subject to valuation and due diligence.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do sale proceeds pay down the loan or just the interest?

They can do either. Many facilities apply net proceeds to rolled-up interest and fees first, then principal. Others force a minimum principal pay-down on every release. That choice decides cash at completion versus how fast the residual loan falls. Terms are indicative and subject to due diligence.

### How is the release price on each unit set?

As a floor paid to discharge that plot from the charge, not automatically the full sale price. It may be a fixed sum per unit or a percentage of net proceeds, with a minimum. If the floor sits above achievable prices, completions stall. Agree it against the live sales schedule, not a historic price list.

### What if the last units have not sold when the term ends?

Then you still owe the residual loan, and the first charge remains over the unsold stock. Typical tenors are 3–24 months; extensions are not automatic. You need a credible residual exit in view at the outset: refinance of the remaining block, or a bulk sale. Renewal is never promised.

### Can I use a bridging loan if some units have already completed?

Yes. That is the usual shape of a part-sold scheme. Completed units drop out of the security; the facility is sized on what remains, with release mechanics for the rest. Title, planning and the live sales schedule still have to stand up. Terms are indicative and subject to valuation and due diligence.

Release mechanics are credit terms. Treat them as such, and the residual loan should stay matched to the residual stock.

---

Markdown version of https://www.rikvincapital.com/uk/insights/uk-bridging-loans-part-sold-schemes-unit-release — provided by Rikvin Capital for AI agents. Site index: https://www.rikvincapital.com/llms.txt