What is a business-purpose bridging loan?
A bridging loan taken out wholly or predominantly for the purposes of a business, rather than for a consumer. That distinction decides whether the loan is regulated.
Bridging finance splits into two worlds: regulated and unregulated. Which one a loan falls into is not a matter of preference — it is set by law, and it depends on who is borrowing, what the security is, and what the money is for. We lend only in the unregulated, business-purpose world, and this guide explains why.
The distinction
Regulated vs unregulated bridging
In broad terms, a bridging loan is a regulated mortgage contract when it is secured against a property that the borrower, or a close family member, lives in or intends to live in. A loan to a consumer who is not carrying on a property business can also fall into regulated consumer lending.
A loan is unregulated when it is for genuine business purposes — for example, a company, SPV or LLP borrowing against an investment or commercial property, or an individual borrowing wholly or predominantly for a property business they carry on, secured against property they do not occupy.
The declaration
What the exemption rests on
Where an individual borrows for a property business, the loan sits outside regulation because of a specific exemption. That exemption depends on the loan being wholly or predominantly for business purposes — and on the borrower confirming it.
In practice that means you will sign a business-purpose declaration stating that the borrowing is for your property business. That declaration is what the exemption rests on, which is why a responsible lender confirms the business purpose at the very start, rather than discovering a problem weeks in.
Why we lend this way
The lines we will not cross
These are not commercial preferences. If a transaction falls outside the exemptions that allow unregulated bridging finance, we simply can’t lend, because we are not authorised to write regulated mortgage contracts or consumer credit. So we do not:
- Lend against a home you, a director, a shareholder or your family live in
- Lend to a borrower who is not carrying on a property business — a consumer buy-to-let
- Lend to anyone acting as trustee
- Lend to unincorporated partnerships or sole traders
- Take a charge over anyone’s home as additional security
We check all of this before anything else, and we would rather tell you in the first minute than the fourth week.
Who this is for
Does your transaction qualify?
A business-purpose bridge with us typically means a UK limited company, SPV, LLP, or an individual borrowing for their property business, taking a first charge over an investment or commercial property, land with planning consent, or residential investment stock — in England and Wales, with a clear exit.
For the mechanics of company borrowing, see bridging loans for limited companies, or read the full lending criteria.
Get started
Not sure if your deal qualifies?
Tell us the transaction and we’ll tell you within minutes whether it’s eligible.