Unregulated bridging finance
Unregulated Bridging Loans Derby
Investment, BTL and commercial bridges across Derby and the wider Derbyshire investor market. Decisions in hours, drawdown in days, terms from 1 to 24 months.
- Decisions in hours
- Completion in days
- £100k to £25m
- Derbyshire specialists
Derby · Derbyshire
Bridge to your next move.
About unregulated bridging
Short-term property finance across Portsea Island and Hampshire.
Unregulated bridging is the network's core book. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate bridging where the security is investment property, commercial premises, buy-to-let or a refurbishment project, because the borrower is treated as a sophisticated party rather than a consumer. That regime gives lenders and brokers room to move at speed. For landlords and property investors operating across Derby and the East Midlands, unregulated bridging is the product that funds the next deal before the last one has stabilised.
Unregulated bridging fits property investors, small developers, established landlords, and limited companies holding property for income or capital appreciation. Typical Derby borrowers run portfolios of 3 to 30 BTL units across DE21, DE22, DE23 and DE24, buying up Normanton terraces, Chaddesden semis and Alvaston ex-council stock with a refurbish-and-let plan. The product also suits owner-managed businesses raising short-term capital against premises feeding the Rolls-Royce engine supply chain in Sinfin or the Toyota assembly line at Burnaston just west of the city. It is the wrong product for owner-occupier residential bridging, which sits under the FCA-regulated regime and goes via our regulated route instead.
A typical case
How a unregulated bridging case runs in Derby.
A limited company landlord with 12 BTL units across Normanton, Chaddesden and Sinfin spots an HMO opportunity near the University of Derby Kedleston Road campus: an end-of-terrace freehold, vendor motivated, asking £225,000 against a likely £295,000 fully refurbished and let on a 5-bed HMO licence. The deal needs to complete in 5 weeks or the vendor walks. The landlord has equity in the existing portfolio but no liquid cash for the deposit and works. We package an unregulated bridge against the Kedleston Road property at 70% of purchase price, with a separate facility releasing additional funds against an unencumbered terrace in Chaddesden. Total facility £215,000 across two charges. Term 12 months, serviced interest, exit to a portfolio HMO refinance with one of the specialist BTL lenders. We put the case to MT Finance and Roma Finance and run with the lender that offers the best blend of speed and pricing. Indicative terms back inside 24 hours, valuation in 7 working days, completion 13 working days after instruction. The borrower completes inside the vendor's window, runs the HMO conversion over 4 months, lets the rooms on the standard student calendar, and refinances out at month 9. The bridge redeems on schedule. This pattern repeats across the DE22 and DE23 student and young-professional rental belt week in, week out.
Rates and fees
What this product costs.
Unregulated bridging in the current Derbyshire market prices between 0.65% and 1.25% per month. Standard investment cases on freehold residential security at 65% loan to value, with a clear refinance exit and a borrower track record, sit at the lower end of that band. Higher loan to value, shorter track record, less liquid security or weaker exit pushes the rate up. Heavy refurbishment and HMO conversion generally prices above 1.0% per month. The arrangement fee runs 1.5% to 2.0% of the loan, added to the facility. Valuation fees vary by property type: a standard terrace in DE23 might cost £550, a commercial mixed-use block in DE1 closer to £2,500. Legal fees both sides are borrower-paid, typically £1,500 to £4,000 per side. Most unregulated products carry no exit fee. We never quote a case as fee-free.
Loan size and term
LTV ceiling and how long you borrow for.
Maximum loan to value on standard unregulated investment bridging is 75% against open market value, with most Derby cases settling at 65% to 70%. Day-one loan to purchase can be higher where the property is materially below market value, often up to 85% of the purchase price if the open market valuation supports it. Terms run from 1 month to 24 months. Most Derbyshire investor clients use a 9 to 12-month facility for refurbishment and refinance, or a 3 to 6-month facility for straightforward purchase and resale.
Exit options
How the loan redeems.
Unregulated bridging has four main exit routes. First, refinance to a long-term BTL mortgage once the property is let and seasoned. Second, refinance to a commercial investment loan for mixed-use or pure commercial security. Third, sale on the open market, particularly where the borrower has refurbished and intends to flip. Fourth, sale of an associated asset such as another property in the portfolio. Lenders want a credible primary exit and a credible backup. A Derby landlord whose only exit is a refinance with one named lender on contingent income looks weaker than one with a refinance lined up plus a saleable backup property in DE22 or DE3.
What makes a deal work
The clean cases.
Clean cases run on three things: realistic valuation, credible exit, and a borrower with a coherent track record. A landlord with 8 stabilised BTLs across DE21 and DE23, a 70% loan to value against a Normanton terrace, and a portfolio refinance offer already on the table is the textbook clean case. Cases also strengthen where the security sits in a liquid Derby postcode with strong rental demand from the Rolls-Royce, Toyota and Alstom workforce, where the construction is conventional, and where the borrower has skin in the game. Limited company SPV structures with clear shareholding work well; partnerships work less well unless the partners are joint borrowers.
What doesn't
Where cases break.
Cases fail where the borrower has no track record and no clear exit, where the property is in a thin micro-market on the city edge, where construction is non-standard, or where the refurbishment scope is materially understated. Auction valuations that overshoot independent comparables also kill cases at the survey stage. We will not progress a case where the maths require every variable to go right; we want headroom on the exit.
Our process
From first call to drawdown.
Step one, a 20-minute call with us. Bring the property, the deal, the equity, the exit, and the timeline. Step two, we package the case and put it to three or four lenders depending on the brief. Indicative terms back inside 24 hours. Step three, valuation instructed alongside legals. Step four, full credit at the lender, typically 3 to 5 working days. Step five, drawdown into the borrower's solicitor, with funds released on completion of the purchase or refinance. Standard timeline from triage to drawdown is 10 to 21 working days. Auction-driven Derbyshire cases compress that to 5 to 10 working days using title insurance and a streamlined valuation. Unregulated bridging on commercial and investment property is not FCA-regulated. We are not directly authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, and we work alongside authorised partner firms for regulated lending only.
Talk to us
Tell us about the deal.
A quick triage call, then indicative lender terms inside 24 hours. We work Derby and across Derbyshire.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions on unregulated bridging
What is the difference between regulated and unregulated bridging?
+
Regulated bridging is FCA-supervised consumer lending against a home you or an immediate family member occupy. Unregulated bridging is non-consumer lending against investment, commercial or BTL property. The regulated regime is slower because of FCA process requirements; the unregulated regime is faster and more flexible because the borrower is treated as a sophisticated party. Most of our Derby investor clients sit in the unregulated regime.
Can I bridge a limited company purchase in Derby?
+
Yes. Limited company SPV structures are standard on unregulated bridging across Derbyshire. The lender takes a first charge against the property and a debenture against the company. Personal guarantees from the directors are standard, and we negotiate the cap on guarantees case by case. Most of our Derby investor clients hold property through limited companies for tax efficiency, and lenders are well used to that structure.
Can unregulated bridging fund refurbishment as well as the purchase?
+
Yes. Most unregulated bridges include a works facility that draws down in stages against work completed and signed off by the lender's monitoring surveyor. For light refurb in Chaddesden or Alvaston, the works facility is often released in two or three tranches. For heavy refurb and conversion on a Normanton Victorian terrace or a Cathedral Quarter conversion shell, expect a more structured drawdown over four or five stages.
Next step
Talk to a Derby bridging specialist about unregulated bridging.
Indicative terms in 24 hours. We work unregulated bridging cases across Derby and the wider Derbyshire market on a same-day enquiry response.