Developers
Ground-up residential, mixed-use, or PRS schemes from £500k GDV. Senior debt, stretched senior, or mezz across the capital stack.
Property finance
Property finance: funding the bricks and the build.
Bridging, development, and commercial mortgages for UK developers, investors, and owner-occupiers.
What it is
What property finance means at Bedrock.
Property finance is a broad category. At Bedrock it covers four main facility shapes: development finance for ground-up build and refurbishment, bridging for short-term acquisition or chain-break, term commercial mortgages for owner-occupied premises, and investment loans secured against rental property portfolios.
Each shape has its own underwriting lens. Developers face GDV and build-cost scrutiny. Bridging is priced on exit certainty. Commercial mortgage rates turn on covenant strength and the loan-to-value at completion. We match the facility to the deal context, not the other way around.
We have not built our panel around any one lender or product type. The market for UK property finance shifts constantly as challenger banks and specialist funds enter and leave segments. Whole-of-market access matters more here than almost anywhere else.
Development debt estimate
What might senior development debt look like?
Senior debt is the lower of the fixed LTGDV and LTC caps. Include non-finance project costs so the cost and equity figures share the same basis.
£
From £250,000 to £30,000,000.
£
£
£
Optional. Include professional fees, contingency, acquisition taxes and other non-finance costs.
Binding cap: LTC
Indicative senior loan£2,450,000
Equity before finance costs£1,050,000
Capped at 65% of GDV£3,250,000
Capped at 70% of cost£2,450,000
Total project cost before finance costs£3,500,000
Illustrative example
Senior lending of up to £2,450,000 covers 49% of GDV and 70% of total project costs. The LTC cap is binding. Equity to deploy before financing costs is £1,050,000.
Senior debt ceiling by constraint
65% GDV
70% cost
Debt
- 65% GDV
- £3,250,000
- 70% cost
- £2,450,000 (current)
- Debt
- £2,450,000 (current)
The LTC cap is lower by £800,000, making it the binding constraint at these inputs.
Assumptions
65% LTGDV and 70% LTC caps. Equity before finance costs excludes interest, lender fees and iterative finance costs.
Limitations
Senior development debt estimate only. Interest, lender fees and iterative finance costs are excluded from total costs and the equity figure. Planning, experience, contingency and scheme quality may alter lender appetite.
Updated 22 August 2026
Add interest, lender fees and contingency to the equity figure before testing project viability. Bedrock can map these inputs to development lenders.
Indicative only - not a quote or offer. Subject to underwriting. Includes land, build and the other project costs you enter. Equity before finance costs excludes interest, lender fees and iterative finance costs. Assumes 65% LTGDV and 70% LTC caps.
Get indicative terms from our teamWho it's for
Common deal profiles.
Three patterns we see most often. The first conversation finds out which one you're closest to.
Investors
Buy-to-let portfolios, semi-commercial, and mixed-use. Both vanilla 5-year fixes and specialist short-lease or shorthold cases.
Owner-occupiers
Trading businesses buying their freehold premises. Commercial mortgages from £250k against the property plus business trading covenants.
How we structure it
Facility shape and timeline.
- Loan sizes
- £250k to £30m+
- Typical terms
- Bridging 3-18 months. Development 12-36 months. Term mortgages up to 25 years.
- Security
- First or second charge over the property. Personal guarantees on smaller deals.
- Timeline
- Indicative terms once we've sounded out the right funders. Drawdown 2-8 weeks depending on facility shape.
Sectors
Sectors where this product fits.
The sectors below are where this product fits most often. Each links to a fuller sector page.
FAQ
Common questions.
Straight answers on how property finance works for UK limited companies.
What is the difference between bridging finance and a commercial mortgage?
Bridging is short-term secured lending, typically for 3 to 18 months, used to buy or refinance quickly and repaid from a sale or a longer-term loan. A commercial mortgage is long-term debt, up to 25 years, repaid from rent or trading profit. Bridging costs more and is priced on how certain the exit is, rather than on long-term affordability.
How is development finance sized?
Lenders look at two figures: the gross development value (GDV), meaning the expected value of the finished scheme, and the total project cost. Senior debt is capped against both. Funds are released in stages as an independent monitoring surveyor confirms build progress, so interest is paid only on what has been drawn.
Can a trading business buy its own premises with a commercial mortgage?
Yes. Owner-occupier commercial mortgages are underwritten on the property and on the business's trading performance, because the business pays the mortgage from its profits. Lenders look at filed accounts, current trading and the deposit available. Bedrock arranges owner-occupier mortgages from around £250k.
What security do property lenders take?
Usually a first or second legal charge over the property, with personal guarantees on smaller deals. Development lenders often also take security over the building contract and other project documents, so they can step in and complete the scheme if needed.
What is an exit strategy and why does it matter?
For bridging and development loans the lender needs to know how it will be repaid: a sale, a refinance onto a term mortgage, or another clear source of funds. A credible, evidenced exit is one of the biggest factors in whether a bridging loan is approved and how it is priced.
Guides
Guides for this product.
Sector analysis from Bedrock on how this product is structured and underwritten in practice.
Charities & Non-ProfitCharity property purchase: when to bridge and when to use a commercial mortgage
A commercial mortgage should usually be the first choice for a charity buying property. A bridging loan can work when a fixed completion date arrives before a documented grant or long-term loan, but only if the trustees can evidence the exit and absorb delay.
ManufacturingBuying a factory or warehouse: the commercial mortgage cash test for manufacturers
A commercial mortgage can fund a manufacturer’s factory or warehouse, but the deposit is only one part of the cash requirement. This guide tests the property, trading business, move costs and working-capital reserve together before deciding whether buying is affordable.
- Charities & Non-Profit
Bridging restricted and unrestricted funds
How charities use short-term bridging against retrospectively-paid grants and confirmed legacies, why restricted-fund rules dictate what can be borrowed against and repaid, and what a social lender will and won't advance against.
- Charities & Non-Profit
Funding a charity capital project through the trading subsidiary
Why charity capital projects are often borrowed through the trading subsidiary, how a charge over charity land triggers Charities Act advice duties, and why a social-investment lender reads the file differently to a high-street bank.
Need property finance for your business?
Five minutes on a call gives us enough to come back with indicative options once we've sounded out the right funders.