The best bridging loan lenders for UK landlords in 2026

The best bridging lender for a landlord depends on what the bridge is for. For a straightforward auction or chain-break purchase where speed matters, West One and LendInvest complete fastest; for an undervalue purchase, adverse credit or a property a bank will not touch, MT Finance and Together lend against the asset rather than the borrower; for a refurbishment that ends in a buy-to-let mortgage, Precise and LendInvest offer bridge-to-let products that pre-agree the exit; for larger or mixed-use deals, Shawbrook, United Trust Bank and Octopus Real Estate price keenest. Bridging rates in the first quarter of 2026 averaged 0.82% a month and loans took an average of 53 days to complete, according to MT Finance's Bridging Trends data. This guide compares ten lenders on rate, loan-to-value, loan size, term, speed and credit appetite, with criteria as published on 5 September 2026. Lenders change them without notice.

Which lender suits which purpose

How bridging is priced

A bridging loan is priced monthly, not annually, and the rate moves with loan-to-value. As at September 2026, published first-charge rates on residential security run from about 0.79% a month at 60% LTV to 1.05% at 70%, with a typical arrangement fee of 2% of the loan, a valuation fee, and the lender's legal costs on top of your own. Most lenders cap standard residential bridging at 70% or 75% LTV; a few go higher on undervalue purchases by lending against open market value rather than price. Terms run from one to 24 months on unregulated loans and up to 12 on regulated ones. Interest is either serviced monthly, retained from the advance, or rolled up and paid at exit; rolled-up interest reduces the net loan you receive, so the headline LTV overstates the cash you get.

Bridging Trends, the quarterly market survey compiled by MT Finance, put the average rate at 0.82% a month in the first quarter of 2026, the average term at 12 months and the average completion at 53 days, so a lender's published "funds in days" is a best case for a clean file rather than a norm.

What we compared

We assessed each lender on seven criteria: published starting rate, maximum loan-to-value on residential security, minimum and maximum loan, maximum term, whether it offers regulated bridging, its approach to credit, and its published completion time. We did not rank on headline rate alone, because the cheapest rate is usually available only at 60% LTV with clean credit. Nearly every lender below is broker-only; our guide to choosing a buy-to-let mortgage broker applies equally to bridging, and the Association of Short Term Lenders membership list is a useful check that a lender signs up to a code of conduct.

The ten lenders compared

Rates and criteria as published on 5 September 2026. Where a lender publishes no rate card, the table describes its positioning rather than inventing a figure. MT Finance's figures come from its March 2026 intermediary product guide; confirm every figure with the lender or your broker before relying on it.

Every month of bridging interest is a deductible finance cost against the rental business once the property lets, and August's expense tracking records it against the right property so the exit refinance and the tax return both reconcile.

1. MT Finance: best for undervalue purchases and adverse credit

MT Finance is an asset-based lender that does not credit score, does not require accounts or proof of income, and will lend to first-time investors. It offers first and second charge loans from £50,000 to £10 million on residential, semi-commercial and commercial property, for one to 24 months on unregulated loans and up to 12 on regulated ones, at up to 70% of open market value or 90% of an undervalue purchase price, whichever is lower. Published residential first-charge rates in March 2026 ran from 0.89% at 60% LTV to 0.99% at 70%, with a 1.05% minimum on loans under £125,000, no exit fees and no early repayment charges after the first month. It quotes an average completion of 11 to 14 days. It also compiles the Bridging Trends survey the industry cites. Lenders that lend against value rather than price make below-market-value purchases workable, and this is the lender most brokers try first for them.

2. Together: best for cases the banks decline

Together is the largest specialist lender in the UK by loan book and takes a pragmatic view of adverse credit, unusual construction, mixed-use and land. Its regulated bridging is quoted from £40,000 to £1 million at 60% LTV with a 2% arrangement fee and a 12-month maximum term, with higher LTVs available on other products. It is the lender for a landlord whose personal circumstances or property would fail an automated decision elsewhere, at a price that reflects the work.

3. LendInvest: best for speed and bridge-to-let

LendInvest is a technology-led institutional lender with bridging, refurbishment, bridge-to-let and development exit products. Commercial bridging rates start from 0.79% a month at the lowest LTV band with loans from £200,000; residential products carry lower minimums. Its bridge-to-let product agrees the buy-to-let mortgage at the outset so the exit is already underwritten, which removes the main risk of a refurbishment bridge. It prefers clean credit and prices adverse cases individually.

4. Precise: best for refurbishment with a pre-agreed exit

Precise, part of OSB Group, offers regulated and unregulated bridging with a refurbishment bias and a bridge-to-let product that converts to one of its buy-to-let mortgages on completion of the works. Its bridging pricing is competitive at lower LTVs and it will consider historic credit issues. Because OSB also owns Kent Reliance, a Precise bridge can exit into an HMO or multi-unit mortgage within the same group.

5. Shawbrook: best for larger loans and semi-commercial

Shawbrook is a specialist bank with bank-funded pricing and an appetite for larger bridging loans, semi-commercial and commercial security and portfolio landlords bridging into a further purchase. It favours cleaner cases at moderate LTV and is not the lender for a £75,000 loan with adverse credit. Its bridging can exit into its own buy-to-let range.

6. West One: best for auction purchases

West One is consistently cited for turnaround on straightforward residential bridges, which is why it appears on most auction shortlists, and it accepts a diverse range of property types including semi-commercial. Auction purchases must complete within 28 days, which our guide to buying property at auction explains; speed still depends on how quickly valuation and legals are arranged, so instruct both the day you win the lot.

7. United Trust Bank: best for development exit and heavy refurbishment

United Trust Bank is a specialist bank with bridging, heavy refurbishment and development finance under one roof, and it is the usual choice when a refurbishment is heavy enough to need staged drawdown and a monitoring surveyor. It offers regulated bridging and suits landlords converting a house to an HMO or a block to flats.

8. Octopus Real Estate: best for large residential and mixed use

Octopus Real Estate, part of Octopus Group, is an institutional lender with bridging from around £1 million upwards on residential, mixed-use and commercial property. It wants clean credit and a well-evidenced exit and prices accordingly. It belongs on a portfolio landlord's shortlist for a large block or a multi-property purchase, not on a single-let one.

9. Market Financial Solutions: best for large loans and complex borrowers

Market Financial Solutions lends from £100,000 to £50 million at up to 75% LTV on residential, HMO, mixed-use and commercial property, with an appetite for overseas borrowers, complex income and large loans. It pairs bridging with a buy-to-let range, so bridge-to-let exits stay in house.

10. Aspen Bridging: best for higher LTV and second charge

Aspen offers first and second charge bridging from £150,000 to £10 million, with up to 80% LTV on some products, terms to 18 months and a willingness to consider adverse credit. It suits a landlord raising against an existing property to fund the next one.

When a bridge makes sense for a landlord

A bridging loan makes sense when the property cannot be mortgaged on day one and the value created by making it mortgageable exceeds the cost of the bridge. Four situations qualify: an auction purchase with a 28-day deadline; a property that is unmortgageable because it lacks a kitchen, a bathroom or a habitable condition; a refurbishment that will lift the value or rent enough to refinance at a higher figure; and an undervalue purchase where the seller needs certainty and speed. Bridging underpins the BRRRR method and property flipping, and converting a property to an HMO is the most common heavy refurbishment a landlord bridges. A bridge is a tool for the growth phase of a portfolio, which is why it sits on our page for portfolio landlords.

A bridge does not make sense as a way to avoid a buy-to-let affordability test, because the exit will face the same test with interest added, or as a way to hold a property while hoping the market moves.

What a bridging loan costs: a worked example

A £200,000 bridge at 0.95% a month for nine months with a 2% arrangement fee, a £600 valuation and £1,500 of combined legal fees costs £17,100 in interest plus £6,100 in fees, or £23,200, before the buy-to-let mortgage fees at exit. If the refurbishment adds £60,000 of value and lets the property refinance at 75% of the new figure, the bridge has paid for itself twice over; if it adds £20,000, it has not. Run the numbers through the buy-to-let investment calculatorwith the bridging cost included before you bid. The additional-property stamp duty surcharge, 5% in England and Northern Ireland since 1 April 2025, applies to a bridged purchase exactly as to a mortgaged one; use the stamp duty calculator.

Regulated and unregulated bridging

A bridging loan is regulated by the FCA when the property is, or will be, occupied by the borrower or an immediate family member, because it then meets the definition of a regulated mortgage contract in article 61 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001. A landlord bridging an investment property that nobody in the family will live in takes an unregulated loan, which is why terms can run to 24 months and why the borrower can be a company. Borrowing through a special purpose vehicle is standard for unregulated bridging. Regulated bridging has a 12-month maximum, stricter affordability and the FCA's consumer protections; landlords who are also chain-breaking on their own home need a lender that offers both, which MT Finance, Together, Precise, West One and United Trust Bank do. The FCA's register confirms whether a lender or broker holds the relevant permissions.

Planning the exit

Every bridging lender lends on the exit, not the property. The usual exit is a buy-to-let remortgage, so read our comparison of the best buy-to-let mortgage lenders before you take the bridge, and get a decision in principle from the exit lender on the post-refurbishment valuation and rent. Refinancing a tenanted property has its own wrinkles, covered in remortgaging a rental. The exit lender will want a portfolio schedule and evidence of the works; August's portfolio reports produce the schedule and hold the invoices against the property.

From working with landlords across the UK who have used bridging, the failures we see share one feature: the bridge was taken on a plan to refinance at a valuation the exit lender's surveyor did not agree with. Get the exit valuation assumptions in writing from the broker before you draw down.

Development finance

Where the works involve ground-up construction, structural conversion or more than about six months of building, lenders move you from bridging to development finance, which is drawn in stages against a monitoring surveyor's reports and priced on gross development value. United Trust Bank, Shawbrook, LendInvest, Octopus Real Estate and Hampshire Trust Bank all offer it. It is a different product with different documentation, and outside this article's scope.

Frequently asked questions

Who are the best bridging loan lenders in the UK?

MT Finance and Together for cases that need asset-based underwriting, LendInvest and West One for speed, Precise and LendInvest for bridge-to-let, and Shawbrook, United Trust Bank, Octopus Real Estate and Market Financial Solutions for larger or mixed-use loans. The right lender depends on the exit and the security, not the headline rate.

How much does a bridging loan cost?

From roughly 0.8% to 1.1% a month in interest as at September 2026, plus an arrangement fee of about 2%, a valuation fee and legal costs on both sides. A £200,000 nine-month bridge at 0.95% costs around £23,000 all in before exit fees.

Can I get a bridging loan with bad credit?

Yes. MT Finance does not credit score and Together considers cases the banks decline, both lending against the property and the exit rather than the borrower's file. Expect a higher rate and a lower LTV.

How fast can a bridging loan complete?

MT Finance quotes an average of 11 to 14 days and several lenders can complete inside three weeks on a clean file, but the market average in the first quarter of 2026 was 53 days. Valuation and legal work, not underwriting, set the pace.

Do I need August to get a bridging loan?

No. You need a broker, a lender whose criteria you meet and an exit you can evidence. August records the bridging cost, holds the refurbishment invoices and produces the portfolio schedule the exit lender asks for. You can start for free.

This article is general information, not financial advice. Bridging is a secured loan; your property may be repossessed if you do not repay it. Lender criteria change without notice; confirm with the lender or a regulated broker before applying.