Found the right property before selling your current one? Buyer pulled out mid-chain? Auction clock already ticking? This is exactly the job fast bridging loans were built for: short-term finance secured against property, arranged in days rather than months.
We arrange bridging for homeowners, landlords and investors who need to move quickly. That covers purchases, chain breaks, refurbishments and refinances. You get a same-day sense check, a decision in principle within 24 hours and honest timings from a named advisor who actually answers the phone.
No call centre. No triage team. Just straight answers from day one. We’re clever like that.
Bridging isn’t for every situation, and we’ll tell you if it isn’t for yours. But when the deadline is real and the exit is clear, it does a job no mortgage can.
Your buyer pulls out, but you don’t want to lose the home you’re buying. A bridge completes your purchase now and gets repaid when your sale finally goes through. You move house, and the chain’s problem stops being your problem.
The hammer falls and you have 28 days to complete. No extensions, no sympathy. Bridging is built for exactly this deadline. If you’re bidding regularly, our auction finance page covers the specifics, including lining up funding before you bid.
Buy a tired property, do the works, then sell at the higher value or refinance onto a cheaper mortgage. For heavier structural projects with staged drawdowns, our development finance page covers the route that usually fits better. We’ll tell you which one you need before anything is signed.
No kitchen, no bathroom, a short lease, or a change of use mid-project? Mainstream lenders walk away. Bridging lenders don’t, because the loan is secured on the property’s value and your exit, not its current state of decoration.
Every case is priced on the property, the plan and the exit. Here’s the shape of what we can arrange:
Not sure what your numbers look like? Our bridging finance calculator (under Resources) does the sums in two minutes.
Here’s the honest answer most websites won’t give you. The market average completion is around 53 days, according to the latest Bridging Trends industry data. That said, average times have been falling year on year as lenders sharpen up, and a large share of well-prepared bridges now close in under three weeks.
We know those numbers well, because Clever Lending is one of the specialist packagers that contributes completion data to Bridging Trends each quarter. They’re the figures we measure ourselves against, not a line of marketing.
A well-prepared, simple case completes in 7 to 14 working days. Urgent cases can move faster where the lender accepts an automated valuation (an AVM returns a figure in seconds rather than weeks, though most lenders cap AVM cases at around 65% LTV on standard residential property) and the legal pack is clean.
What makes the difference isn’t the lender’s marketing. It’s preparation. Clear title, ID and bank statements ready, a realistic exit, and valuation access sorted early. We run the valuation and legal workstreams side by side rather than one after the other, which is where most of the time gets saved.
Bridging costs more than a mortgage. It’s shorter, faster and taken on properties mortgages won’t touch. Monthly rates in 2026 typically run from 0.55% to 1.5% depending on LTV, property type and credit profile, with the market average sitting at 0.82% a month in early 2026 according to Bridging Trends.
On top of interest, budget for:
A worked example: £200,000 over 12 months at 0.85% per month is £1,700 a month in interest, plus a 2% arrangement fee of £4,000. Compare quotes on total cost over your expected term, not the headline rate.
Simple bridging cases typically complete in 7 to 14 working days once the valuation and legals are moving. Here’s how we keep it that quick:
Send us the property value, the amount you need, your timescale and any quirks. We'll come back the same working day with a clear plan, the likely structure and a realistic timeline. Not a sales pitch.
We secure your decision in principle within 24 hours, instruct the valuation immediately (an AVM where the case qualifies), and set out any conditions in plain English.
We chase the legal work so you don't have to, and you'll hear about any date change from us first, along with the new date. Funds released, deadline met.
Funds in 7 working days; refinanced to BTL in month 3.
Completed purchase while selling the old home; loan redeemed in 3 months.
75% purchase bridge; works done; refinanced to lower-cost mortgage on completion.
(Anonymised; figures indicative.)
Most simple cases complete in 7 to 14 working days. Same-day decisions in principle are normal, and funds in under a week are possible where the lender accepts an automated valuation and the legals are clean. Preparation moves the needle more than anything else, so have your ID, bank statements and exit evidence ready before you apply.
A regulated bridge is secured against a home you or an immediate family member live in (or will live in) and falls under FCA rules, with stricter affordability and suitability checks. An unregulated bridge is secured against investment or commercial property. It's faster and more flexible, with fewer consumer protections. We arrange both and will tell you which applies before anything is signed.
Lenders want the repayment route evidenced upfront. The two most common exits are sale of the property, supported by a realistic valuation and timeline, or refinance onto a longer-term mortgage, supported by a decision in principle from the new lender. Inheritance, a business sale or another asset sale can also work. If you can evidence it, we can usually place it.
Often, yes. Bridging is secured on the property and the exit rather than your credit score, so defaults, CCJs and historic issues don't automatically block a deal. Rates will reflect the risk, and a short written explanation of any credit event keeps the lender's file clean from day one.
Yes. A specialist group of UK lenders is comfortable with expat and foreign national borrowers, including company and trust structures. Expect fuller ID, proof of address and source-of-funds checks, plus slightly tighter LTVs than UK-resident cases.
Not always. On unregulated bridging, interest can be rolled up or retained from the loan, so there's nothing to service monthly and no income to evidence. Regulated bridging on your own home still requires affordability checks under FCA rules.
A closed bridge has a fixed repayment date, for example a sale that's already exchanged. An open bridge has an evidenced exit but no fixed date. Closed bridges are lower risk and price slightly better. Open bridges buy flexibility for a little more.
Bridging a shop, office or mixed-use building and thinking about the longer term? Our commercial mortgages page covers the route once the bridge has done its job.
Send us a quick enquiry and we’ll come back within 24 business hours with a clear, realistic route forward. Or a straight “this isn’t the right product”, if that’s the truth.
No fees until we’ve found you a solution, and you’ll speak to an advisor from the first call, not a triage team. Deadlines don’t wait. Neither do we.
Email us directly with your enquiry by clicking here or using our email [email protected].
