Bridging loan calculator

How the exit figure is worked out

Bridging is priced per month, not per year, so the calculator takes the monthly rate you enter (say 0.85%) and applies it to the loan for the number of months in the term. How that interest lands depends on the structure you choose. On a rolled-up loan you make no monthly payments; the interest accrues and is added to the balance, so the amount you owe compounds gently month by month and is settled in one lump at the end. That is why the exit figure on a rolled-up deal is the capital plus all the accrued interest. On a serviced loan you pay the interest each month, so the balance stays flat and the exit figure is just the capital you originally borrowed. On top of the interest sits the arrangement fee (defaulted here to 2%, and usually added to the loan rather than paid in cash), plus valuation and legal costs in the real world. The total cost of finance is the interest and the fees combined; the exit amount is what you actually hand back to clear the loan, from a sale or a refinance.

Rolled-up or serviced, and the cost of a longer term

The structure you pick is the single biggest lever on a bridge, and it usually comes down to cash flow during the term rather than headline rate.

Rolled-up keeps your monthly outgoings at zero, which suits a project with no income while it runs, such as a purchase before a sale completes or a property being brought back into use. The trade-off is that interest compounds and the exit figure is at its largest, so you need certainty in the exit.

Serviced costs you cash every month but keeps the debt flat, so the exit figure is smaller and the total interest is marginally lower because nothing compounds. It suits a borrower with rental or trading income to cover the payments.

The other lever is term. Bridging is meant to be short, typically one to twenty-four months, and every extra month is another slice of monthly interest on the clock. A twelve-month bridge at 0.85% a month is roughly 10.2% of the loan in interest before fees; stretch the same loan to eighteen months and the interest bill rises by half again. Borrow only the months you genuinely need, and make sure the exit is deliverable inside them.

What actually drives the rate and the decision

A bridging lender underwrites the exit first and the borrower second, because the whole product is built around getting repaid quickly from a defined event. The biggest levers on your rate are:

The strength of the exit. A signed sale, an agreed refinance or a term facility already in principle prices far better than a vague plan to sell later. A weak or unproven exit is what turns a bridge expensive or declines it outright.

The LTV. The calculator shows your loan against the property value, and most UK lenders cap around 70% to 75%. Sit well under that and you widen your lender choice and sharpen the rate; push toward the cap and pricing hardens.

The property and the charge. A clean, marketable property held on a first charge attracts the keenest rates. Second charges, unusual or part-built security, and anything hard to value price higher.

Speed and complexity. Bridging exists to move fast, sometimes in days, so a clean title, a ready valuation and a company that can sign quickly all help. The table below gives indicative monthly ranges; they are illustrative only, and the offer is the lender's alone.

How much you can borrow, and what lenders look for

UK bridging typically runs from around £25,000 up to several million, over one to twenty-four months, secured against property held by a limited company. How much you can raise is a function of the LTV cap against the property value, not just what you ask for; at a 75% cap a property worth £500,000 supports roughly £375,000 gross, and on a rolled-up deal the retained interest and fees come out of that gross figure, so the net you receive is lower.

Because we place these deals rather than lend ourselves, we match the case to lenders whose appetite fits the property type, the charge, the ticket size and, above all, the exit. To move quickly, have ready the property details and any valuation, evidence of the exit (a sale memorandum, a refinance agreement in principle, or planning where relevant), the company's recent accounts, and ID for the directors. Lenders assess two things: whether the security and exit are sound, and whether the deal completes inside the term. Any figure discussed before a formal offer is indicative; approval, rate and term are the lender's decision.

How we help you get a sharper rate

A handful of things genuinely move the price on a bridge, and our job as your broker is to line them all up in your favour before a single lender sees the file.

We take it to the right lender first. The bridging market is fragmented, with specialist bridging books, private funders, challenger banks and packager-only lenders, each with a different appetite by property type, charge and exit. Approaching them one at a time is slow and leaves a trail of enquiries. We hold that criteria detail across our panel, so we can focus your case on the lenders most likely to price it keenly and fund inside your timescale.

We structure the deal to price well. We will pitch the LTV where the pricing tiers sit, frame the exit in the terms an underwriter wants to see, choose rolled-up or serviced against your cash flow, and set the term to the shortest window your exit realistically needs. Those choices often move the rate more than shopping around does.

We tell you straight what is realistic. We cannot promise a rate or an approval, because those sit with the lender, but we can give you an honest read on where your deal is likely to land, and flag early if the exit will not stand up. It costs nothing to have us model it, and there is no obligation. Send us the property, the numbers and the exit, and we will come back with indicative terms from lenders whose criteria fit.