Land Bridging Loan
A land bridging loan is short-term finance secured on a site, used to complete a land purchase quickly — at auction, on an option deadline, or ahead of a development facility being ready — and repaid on sale, on grant of planning, or by refinancing into development finance. Leverage depends entirely on the planning status: detailed consent typically supports 60–65% of value, outline consent around 55%, and bare land with no consent 45–50%, because an unconsented site is illiquid and hard to value. Rates start around 0.85% per month with interest rolled, terms run 6 to 24 months, and completion in two to four weeks is normal.
Criteria and pricing
What lenders on our panel will typically do on this product today.
- LTV — detailed planning
- Up to 60–65%
- LTV — outline planning
- Around 55%
- LTV — no planning
- 45–50%
- Rate
- From ~0.85% pcm with consent; 1.0–1.5% pcm without
- Term
- 6–24 months
- Arrangement fee
- 1.5–2%
- Interest treatment
- Rolled or retained — land generates no income to service from
- Exit
- Development finance, sale of the site, or sale with consent
- Speed
- 2–4 weeks; 10 days achievable on clean title
Worked example — consented site purchased ahead of a development facility
- Purchase price with detailed consent
- £850,000
- Facility at 60% LTV
- £510,000
- Borrower equity
- £340,000 plus costs
- Rate at 0.89% pcm, rolled, 9 months
- ≈ £42,000 interest
- Arrangement fee at 1.75%
- £8,925
- Redemption from development facility
- ≈ £561,000
- Land value used in the development appraisal
- £850,000
Figures are typical UK market ranges as at 2026 and are indicative only — your terms depend on the asset, the exit and the lender we place the case with.
Who this works for — and who it does not
You are likely to qualify if
- Clean title with confirmed legal access and services, or a clear plan and budget to secure them
- A defined exit — a development facility agreed in principle, an offer to purchase, or a consent expected on a known timetable
- Equity of 35–55% depending on planning status
- Environmental position understood: contamination, mining or flood risk all change the valuation
- Company or SPV borrower for most cases; individuals accepted
This is the wrong product if
- Buyers with no exit beyond an intention to sell at some point at an unproven price
- Sites with unresolved ransom strips or no legal access, which most lenders will decline outright
- Agricultural land bought at development prices with no planning route
- Anyone needing 80% of the purchase price — that leverage does not exist on land at any price
What actually happens, and when
- Day 0–1
Site and title review
Planning status, access, overage and any conditions are checked before terms, because these are what change the advance later.
- Day 2–4
Terms and valuation
Valuation instructed. Land valuations take longer than residential and are the usual cause of a slipped completion date — instruct on day one.
- Day 5–15
Legals
Searches, access rights, overage and any section 106 obligations reviewed by the lender's solicitor.
- Week 3–4
Completion
Funds drawn and the site purchased. If development finance is the exit, that application should already be underway.
Frequently asked
Request indicative terms
Four details are all a lender needs to price a case: how much, what secures it, when you need it and how it is repaid. Send those and we come back with realistic terms — or tell you plainly that the case will not place.
Request indicative terms
Tell us the four things every lender asks first. We come back with realistic terms, usually the same working day.