Bridging Finance Case Studies Derby

The borrower picked up an ex-rental two-bed terrace in DE24 at a regional auction with a 28-day completion deadline. The kitchen was tired, the bathroom dated, and the property needed full redecoration before it would let again. Standard BTL lenders would not touch it in that condition.

We had the legal pack on the desk by 09:00 the next morning. Indicative terms came back from two panel lenders inside 24 hours. The borrower signed the better of the two and we packaged the file the same week. Valuation landed inside 5 working days and legals ran in parallel using title insurance. Completion landed 13 working days after the hammer fell, with 15 days of the auction clock still on it.

An established Derbyshire landlord secured a three-bed semi in Spondon at auction from a probate sale. The legal pack was thin on detail and the property had been empty for nine months. The borrower wanted to add the asset to his DE21 portfolio and refinance onto a long-term BTL once the kitchen was refitted.

We pitched the case to a panel lender comfortable with probate sales and limited information packs. Indicative terms came back inside 30 hours at 0.80% per month and 72% LTV. The valuation came in slightly ahead of the purchase price, which the lender accepted. The bridge funded the purchase and a small works tranche for kitchen and bathroom updates.

A small developer bid on a tired two-bed terrace in Sinfin with a clear flip plan: strip out, rewire, treat damp, refit kitchen and bathroom, redecorate, and list for sale inside four months. The auction clock was 28 days. The property was unmortgageable on day one because of the rewiring and damp.

We placed the case with a speed-led panel lender at 75% LTV against the open-market value as-is. Indicative terms inside 18 hours, valuation in 4 working days, legals ran on title insurance, completion at day 16. The borrower took possession with the works contractor already on standby and started on site the same week.

A landlord targeted the student rental market around the University of Derby Kedleston campus and bought a four-bed semi in Mickleover to convert to a licensed HMO. Works included compliant fire doors, mains-interlinked alarms, an EPC uplift from D to C, refit of the kitchen as a shared cooking space, and an ensuite in one bedroom. The mandatory HMO licence was applied for at the point of purchase.

We placed the case with a panel lender comfortable with HMO refurbishment and pending licence applications. The 9-month bridge funded the £245,000 purchase at 70% LTV with a separate works tranche released in two stages on quantity surveyor sign-off. Licence came through at month 4. Works completed at month 6.

An experienced investor bought a tired three-bed Victorian terrace in the Cathedral Quarter that had not been touched since the 1950s. The kitchen and bathroom were original post-war fittings, electrics needed a full rewire, plumbing was lead in places, and the rear extension needed rebuilding. The property sat inside a conservation area, which meant external materials and window styles had to match the original.

We packaged the case to a heavy-refurbishment specialist on the panel who accepted the conservation overlay. The 12-month bridge funded the purchase at 65% LTV with the works budget released in three stage payments. The structural rebuild ran across months 2 to 6, internal fit-out months 7 to 9. A quantity surveyor signed off each tranche before release.

A retired couple in their early 70s wanted to complete on a smaller single-storey property in Mickleover before their detached home in Allestree finished going through the sale process. The buyers on the Allestree home were ready in principle but their chain had a delay further down. The couple stood to lose the onward purchase if they could not exchange within five weeks.

Because the security was their existing owner-occupied home, the bridge was regulated. We introduced them to one of our FCA-authorised partners who carried out the regulated activity. The packaging team handled the case file and the lender quoted indicative terms inside 24 hours at the regulated rate band. Funds completed in 15 working days against the existing Allestree home as security, and the onward purchase in Mickleover exchanged on time.

A family in Littleover had an offer accepted on a four-bed home in Chellaston. The chain below them collapsed when a first-time buyer pulled out. The onward seller was threatening to remarket the property unless the family could exchange within four weeks. They had equity in their Littleover home but no liquid funds for a deposit on the onward purchase.

Because the security was their existing owner-occupied home, the bridge was regulated. We introduced them to our FCA-authorised partner who handled the regulated activity. Indicative terms came back inside 24 hours at the regulated rate band, 65% LTV against the Littleover home. The case completed in 14 working days and the onward purchase in Chellaston exchanged with two days to spare.

A regional developer reached practical completion on a twelve-unit apartment scheme in Pride Park. The development facility ran at expensive dev rates and was 45 days from expiry. Six of the twelve units were pre-let to professional tenants on twelve-month tenancies; the developer planned to retain those as long-term BTL. The other six were on the market for sale to owner-occupiers and investors.

We split the exit. A high-street challenger took the six retained units onto a portfolio BTL term mortgage at month 9 of the bridge. The remaining six units sold individually across the twelve-month bridge term. The case priced at 62% LTV against gross development value, term 12 months, with the lender accepting individual unit sales and the portfolio term refinance as parallel redemption mechanisms.

A landlord owned a mixed-use building on Sadler Gate in the Cathedral Quarter: a ground-floor retail unit let to an independent retailer, with a one-bed flat above. The existing short-term facility was reaching its limit and the lender was unwilling to extend. The landlord wanted breathing room to re-gear the commercial lease at a higher rent before refinancing onto a long-term commercial mortgage at a better valuation.

We arranged a 12-month bridge against the building at 65% LTV. The lender took comfort from the residential income covering interest on a serviced basis, with the commercial trading history priced in. We packaged the lease re-gear plan as part of the exit story. Five months in, the retail tenant signed a new 7-year lease at a 15% higher rent.

A business owner needed working capital to acquire stock and equipment for a manufacturing supply contract with one of the larger employers in the Derby supply chain. He owned a substantial five-bed home in Darley Abbey with significant equity but did not want to disturb the cheap first-charge term mortgage he had taken out three years earlier. A second-charge bridge was the right structure.

We placed the case with a panel lender experienced in second-charge work and arranged consent from the first-charge lender. The 12-month bridge sat behind the first charge at a combined LTV of 68%. Interest was serviced monthly from the business cashflow once the contract started generating revenue. The exit was either a remortgage that consolidated both charges or repayment from business cashflow.