Commercial bridging loans · England & Wales
Commercial bridging loans, built around your exit
Fast, flexible short-term finance secured against commercial and semi-commercial property – offices, retail, industrial and mixed-use, from £75k to £10m. A credible exit, honest terms, and a decision-maker on the other end of the phone.
The basics
What is a commercial bridging loan?
A commercial bridging loan is a short-term bridging loan secured against commercial property – an office, a shop or retail unit, an industrial or warehouse building, or against semi-commercial property that mixes trade and residential use, such as a flat above a shop. Like any bridging loan, it exists to bridge a gap in time: between buying and selling, between a purchase and a longer-term refinance, or between a building’s current condition and the value it will reach once work or a new tenant is in place.
As it is secured by a legal charge over the building rather than underwritten on trading history, commercial bridging finance can be arranged in days rather than the weeks or months a commercial mortgage takes. Terms run up to 24 months and the loan is repaid in full at the end from a defined source – your exit. A commercial bridge is almost always an unregulated bridging loan, because the security is used for business or investment rather than as a home. At Proxima Capital we lend from £75k to £10m across England and Wales, assessed on the merits of each case.
Mechanics
How commercial bridging loans work
We take a first or second charge over the commercial property as security, agree a loan amount based on the building’s value and your exit, and release funds. Interest is charged monthly and the principal is redeemed at the end of the term. Because the security and the exit carry the risk, a commercial bridging lender looks harder at the asset, the tenant position and how the loan will be repaid than at historic accounts.
Uses
What can you use commercial bridging for?
Almost any situation where a business or investor needs property-backed funding quickly and can repay it from a clear source. The cases we fund most often:
- → Purchasing a commercial or semi-commercial building
- → Buying at auction inside the 28-day deadline
- → Refurbishing or repurposing a unit before let or sale
- → Capital raising against equity in a trading premises
- → Lease events, break clauses, renewals or a departing tenant
- → Buying a tenanted investment ahead of refinance
- → Change of use or conversion with the right planning
- → Time-critical deals that won’t wait for a commercial mortgage
Lease events are a common trigger. A vacant or part-let building is hard to mortgage, but a bridge can fund the purchase or hold while you re-let, renegotiate a term or agree a renewal; then you refinance onto a commercial mortgage once the income is back in place and the value is optimised.
Property types
Commercial and semi-commercial property we lend against
We bridge across the main commercial classes, and against semi-commercial property where trade and residential space sit under one title.
Offices and retail
Office suites, high-street shops and retail units whether owner-occupied, tenanted or awaiting a new lease. Location, tenant covenant and re-letting prospects drive the valuation and the LTV we can offer.
Industrial and warehouse
Warehouses, light-industrial units and trade counters. These often value well against sensible LTVs, particularly where the location and specification suit ready demand from occupiers.
Mixed-use and semi-commercial
A shop or office with flats above, or a building split between trade and residential use. Semi-commercial property sits between our residential and commercial lending, and the residential element often supports a slightly higher LTV than a wholly commercial building would.
Specialist and trading assets – care, leisure, hospitality – can also work with the right exit. Each asset class has its own valuation and LTV considerations, which we work through with you up front rather than after you have committed.
Borrowing
Why commercial LTVs are lower
The amount you can borrow is driven by the property’s value and your loan to value (LTV). Proxima lends up to 75% LTV against residential property – but on commercial and semi-commercial buildings the maximum LTV sits lower. That is not caution for its own sake; it reflects how the assets behave. A commercial building is worth what a business will pay to occupy it, so its value moves with the tenant, the lease and local demand. Selling one takes longer, the buyer pool is thinner, and a vacant unit can be hard to shift. A lender protects against that by holding more equity behind the loan.
Within that, the LTV we can offer flexes with the specifics: a well-let industrial unit on a strong covenant supports more than a vacant secondary shop. Semi-commercial buildings usually sit above wholly commercial ones because the residential element steadies the value. On refurbishment and conversion cases, lending can be structured against the gross development value (GDV) – the building’s worth once works complete – within sensible loan-to-GDV limits. It helps to know two terms: the gross loan is the full facility including interest and fees, while the net loan is what reaches you on day one. Our bridging loan calculator shows both.
On cost, commercial bridging interest is charged monthly, with Proxima rates from 0.90% per month, plus an arrangement fee (usually 2% of the loan), a valuation and legal costs. Interest can be retained, rolled up or serviced. Where you need to raise funds without disturbing an existing commercial mortgage, a second charge can sit behind it with the first lender’s consent. Full detail sits on our bridging loan rates and costs page.
The thing that matters
How we assess your exit
A commercial bridging loan is only as good as the plan to repay it. On commercial deals the exit is usually one of two things: the sale of the building, or a refinance onto a commercial mortgage or investment facility once the property is let and income is flowing. We stress-test that exit before we lend; the strength of a tenant covenant, the length and terms of the lease, the realistic letting period on a vacant unit, and how a term lender will view the asset when you come to refinance.
A credible, evidenced exit is what turns a fast decision into a clean completion, and what protects you from a costly default at the end of the term. If the exit doesn’t stack up, we’ll tell you early rather than late, because a loan that can’t be repaid helps no one. Your property may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a loan secured against it.
Commercial bridging with Proxima
A lender that can actually complete
Proxima Capital was founded by highly experienced operators who have overseen over £500m of property finance lending. When dealing with Proxima you speak directly with the decision makers, get an honest view the same day, and a decision in principle within 24 hours. We work with best-in-class solicitors and market-leading title indemnity insurance to keep completion fast and increase certainty.
FAQs
Commercial bridging questions, answered
What LTV can I get on a commercial bridging loan?
Lower than the 75% we can reach on residential security. Commercial buildings are valued on their income and are slower to sell, so lenders hold more equity behind the loan. The exact LTV depends on the asset – a well-let industrial unit supports more than a vacant secondary shop – and semi-commercial property usually sits above wholly commercial. We give you a realistic figure up front rather than a headline you can’t rely on.
Is a commercial bridging loan regulated?
Not usually. A bridging loan secured against property used for business or investment sits outside FCA consumer regulation – it is an unregulated bridging loan. Where a building is part-residential, or someone connected to the borrower lives in part of it, the picture can change, because regulation is set by how the property is used rather than by the lender. We flag which side of the line a deal falls on before you proceed.
Can I get commercial bridging on a semi-commercial property?
Yes. Semi-commercial and mixed-use buildings are core part of our business for us. A shop or office with flats above, or any single title mixing trade and residential space, can be bridged. The residential element tends to steady the valuation, so semi-commercial deals often support a slightly higher LTV than a wholly commercial building of similar value.
How fast can commercial bridging complete?
We issue a decision in principle within 24 hours and structure cases to complete in days where the valuation and legals allow. Commercial valuations and title can take a little longer than residential, so the timeline turns on how quickly a surveyor and solicitors can move. See fast bridging loans for how we compress timelines.
What exit works for a commercial bridge?
Most commonly a sale of the building or a refinance onto a commercial mortgage once the property is let and income is flowing. A vacant unit that gets tenanted during the bridge becomes far easier to refinance, and the value usually follows. We assess the exit before we lend, so you know the plan is credible rather than hopeful.
Have a deal in mind?
Tell us about it and you’ll get an honest, commercial view the same day direct from decision makers.
