Land bridging loans · England & Wales
A land bridging loan, priced on the real plan
Fast, specialist short-term finance secured against land – with or without planning – from £75k to £10m. We look past the tick-box at the site, the planning position and the exit, and give you an honest answer the same day.
The basics
What is a land bridging loan?
A land bridging loan is a short-term loan secured by a legal charge over land rather than a completed building. It exists to bridge a gap in time – between agreeing a purchase and completing it, between buying a site and securing planning, or between owning land and starting a scheme. Because it is asset-backed, a land bridging loan can be arranged in days rather than the weeks or months a term facility takes, which is why buyers reach for one when a plot won’t wait.
The mechanics are the same as any bridging loan: a lender takes security, agrees a figure against the value of the land and your exit, and releases funds for a term of up to 24 months. What sets land apart is the security itself. A field or a plot generates no rent, has no bricks to value against comparable sales, and can swing sharply in worth depending on one thing – whether it can be built on. That makes the assessment different, and it makes the planning position the single most important fact in the file.
Mechanics
How does bridging against land work?
A lender takes a first charge over the land, agrees a loan amount based on the site’s value and your exit, and releases funds. Interest is charged monthly and the principal is redeemed at the end of the term. Because the security is bare land, the lender leans harder on two things than it would on a finished house; a credible valuation of the site as it stands, and a repayment route that genuinely stacks up. Get those right and a land deal moves as fast as any bridge.
The big distinction
Land with planning vs land without
This is the fault line that decides everything about a land bridging loan; the loan to value on offer, the rate, and often whether a lender will look at the deal at all. Two sites side by side can be worth very different sums purely because of what the planning status is.
Land with planning permission
Land that holds a valid planning consent – full or outline – is a far more comfortable proposition. The permission gives the site a clear, evidenced development value, so a RICS valuer can put a defensible figure on it and a lender can advance against a known outcome. Consented plots attract the strongest loan to value and the keenest pricing, because the exit is close and legible: build it out, or sell the site on to someone who will.
Land without planning permission
Land with no consent is valued on its existing use – agricultural, amenity or paddock value – not on what it might one day become. Lending is possible, but it is more conservative: the loan to value is lower, the diligence deeper, and the lender needs to understand exactly how you plan to move the site forward. Lenders fund unconsented land where the story is credible – a live application, a strong pre-application position, or a purchase priced to reflect the planning risk – but will price the reality in front of them, not the hope on the horizon.
Hope value
What is “hope value” and how do lenders treat it?
Hope value is the premium a piece of land carries in the open market on the expectation of future planning – the amount a buyer will pay above existing-use value in the hope the site is one day consented for something more valuable. A farmer’s field on the edge of a growing town can change hands well above its agricultural worth on exactly that hope.
The problem for a lender is that hope value is speculative by definition. Planning can be refused, delayed or granted on terms that undercut the numbers, and if it never arrives the premium evaporates – leaving security worth a fraction of the purchase price. For that reason a responsible lender will lend against a conservative view of the land, closer to its evidenced current value than to the price hope has bid it up to. We would rather advance a sensible figure you can comfortably exit than stretch to a headline number that only works if the planning gods smile. That protects you as much as us.
Borrowing
How much can you borrow against land?
The amount is driven by the value of the land and your loan to value (LTV). Land is one of the asset classes where the ceiling comes down. Bare land LTVs typically sit meaningfully below what would be advanced against a finished residential property, and consented land borrows more than unconsented land. The reason is simple: land is less liquid, harder to value with confidence, and its worth hinges on a planning outcome that may still be uncertain – so the loan to value is set more conservatively to leave a proper margin of safety in the security.
It helps to know two terms. The gross loan is the full facility, including retained interest and the arrangement fee (usually 2% of the loan). The net loan is what actually reaches you on day one. Because land bridging often runs on retained interest, the gap between gross and net matters.
Underwriting
How lenders assess a land deal
Underwriting a land bridge comes down to four questions. Answer them well up front and the decision comes quickly.
Planning position
Does the site have consent, an application in, or a credible planning strategy? The strength and stage of planning sets the value, the LTV and the appetite. It is the first thing we look at and the thing that moves the file most.
Valuation and comparables
A RICS valuation establishes what the land is worth as it stands, using comparable land sales rather than build-out values. Lenders will lend against that evidenced figure – not the purchase price and not the hoped-for consented value.
Title, access and services
Land throws up more legal wrinkles than a house – rights of way, ransom strips, restrictive covenants, overage clauses and utility connections. Clean title and a viable access are essential; where a defect is insurable, market-leading title indemnity can keep completion on track.
Exit strategy
How does the loan get repaid, and when? A land bridge is only as good as its exit – a refinance onto development funding or an onward sale.
Direct to the decision-makers
Land is nuanced. So we read the file ourselves
Proxima was founded by highly experienced operators who have overseen in excess of £500m of property lending, so you deal directly with the decision-makers and get a prompt decision in principle within 24 hours. Land deals live or die on planning nuance and the exit, judgement calls we make ourselves, backed by best-in-class solicitors and market-leading title indemnity to keep completion fast and certain. Meet the team.
The thing that matters
Your exit: development finance or onward sale
A land bridging loan is short-term by design, and it is only as good as the plan to repay it. On land deals the exit almost always takes one of two shapes, and the strength of it is what we structure the whole facility around.
The first is a refinance onto development finance. You use the bridge to secure the site and see planning through, then roll onto a development facility to build the scheme out – the development funding, and ultimately the sale or letting of the finished units, repays the bridge. The second is an onward sale: buy the land, improve its planning position, and sell the consented site to a developer at an uplifted value, using the sale proceeds to redeem. A well-consented plot is a liquid, saleable asset, which is exactly why lenders treat land with planning so differently from land without.
Whichever route fits, we structure the case around the exit first. If it doesn’t stack up, we’ll tell you early rather than late. Your property may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a loan secured against it – which is precisely why we would rather get the exit right than write a loan that can’t be repaid.
Explore
Where a land bridge leads next
See how we compare to other bridging loan lenders and brokers →
FAQs
Land bridging loan questions, answered
Can you get a land bridging loan without planning permission?
Yes, though on more conservative terms. Land without consent is valued on its existing use rather than its development potential, so the loan to value is lower and the diligence deeper. We fund unconsented land where there is a credible planning strategy – a live application, a strong pre-application position, or a purchase price that reflects the risk – and we price the reality rather than the hope value.
What loan to value can you get on land?
Lower than on bricks and mortar. Because land is less liquid and its value hinges on planning, land LTVs sit below the up-to-75% we would advance against a finished residential property, and consented land borrows more than unconsented land. The exact figure depends on the planning position, the site and the exit, which we work through with you before you commit.
What does a land bridging loan cost?
Interest is charged monthly, not annually, with Proxima rates from 0.85% per month, and your rate reflects the planning position, the LTV and the strength of your exit. On top of interest you should budget for an arrangement fee – commonly around 2% of the loan – plus a valuation and legal costs. Our calculator and rates page set out the full picture, including gross and net loan.
What are the downsides of a land bridging loan?
It is short-term finance: interest is charged monthly and adds up, fees and valuation costs apply, and the loan is secured against the land – so your property may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a loan secured against it. On land the main risk is the exit, particularly where it depends on a planning outcome that slips or is refused, which is why we pressure-test the plan before we lend.
How fast can a land bridging loan complete?
We issue a decision in principle within 24 hours and structure land cases to complete in days where the valuation and legals allow. Land can carry extra title and access checks, so clean, well-organised information up front is the surest way to keep the timeline tight.
Have a site in mind?
Tell us about the land and the planning position, and you’ll get an honest, commercial view the same day – direct from the people who make the decisions.
