Second charge bridging · England & Wales
Second charge bridging loans that raise capital fast
A specialist second charge bridging loan lets you unlock the equity in a property without touching your existing first mortgage – from £75k to £10m, secured behind your current lender. Honest terms, a credible exit, and a decision-maker on the other end of the phone.
The basics
What is a second charge bridging loan?
A second charge bridging loan is short-term property finance secured behind an existing mortgage. When a lender registers a legal charge over a property, that charge takes a position in a queue. Your current mortgage lender usually holds the first charge – first in line to be repaid if the property is sold. A second charge sits immediately behind it, giving a second lender security over the remaining equity without disturbing the loan already in place.
Like any bridging loan, it is short-term by design – terms typically run from a few months up to 24 months, and the balance is repaid in full from a defined exit. The difference is purely the charge position: the second charge lender ranks behind the first, so it carries more risk and prices accordingly. At Proxima Capital we take a second charge across England and Wales, from £75k to £1m, assessed on the equity, the plan and how you will repay.
First vs second
First charge vs second charge
The order of the charges decides who gets repaid first. A first charge lender is paid out before anyone else when the property sells; a second charge lender is paid only once the first charge is cleared. That single fact drives everything else – the loan to value on offer, the rate, and the need for the first lender to agree. Most first charge bridging loans on our main bridging page follow the standard route; a second charge is the tool when you need to keep the first loan in place.
Why use one
Why use a second charge bridging loan?
The single biggest reason is to raise capital without affecting a first mortgage that is worth keeping. If your existing loan is on a low fixed rate, or carries a large early repayment charge, refinancing the whole property to release equity can be expensive or simply uncommercial. A second charge leaves that first loan untouched and borrows only against the equity on top – so you keep the cheap money you already have and add short-term funding alongside it.
Speed is the other driver. A second charge bridging loan behaves like any bridge – arranged in days, not the weeks or months a full remortgage takes – so it suits a time-critical opportunity where the money in your property is the fastest source of funds. Used well, it is a way to put idle equity to work quickly, then repay it from a clean exit once the deal has done its job.
Consent
Do you need the first lender’s consent?
Almost always, yes. Because a second charge sits behind the first, the first charge lender is asked to agree to a further loan ranking behind theirs. In practice this is done through a deed of priority – a document confirming the first lender is content for a second charge to be registered against the property. The first lender can agree, decline, or set conditions, and we factor their response into the timeline from the outset.
Consent is usually the part that governs how quickly a second charge completes, so it pays to start it early. Where a first lender is slow or unwilling, a well-structured case – with clear equity headroom and a strong exit – makes their decision easy. We deal directly with the moving parts rather than passing them down a chain, which keeps a second charge on track to complete in days once consent and the valuation are in.
Uses
What can you use a second charge bridging loan for?
Any situation where equity in a property is the quickest capital and the first mortgage is best left in place. Common cases we fund:
- → Raising a deposit for a further property purchase
- → Funding an auction purchase against existing equity
- → Refurbishment works before sale or refinance
- → Injecting working capital into a business or scheme
- → Bridging a tax bill or time-critical liability
- → Preserving a low-rate first mortgage while raising cash
- → Avoiding a large early repayment charge on the first loan
- → Part-funding a wider development or portfolio move
Whether the security is a home, a buy-to-let, or commercial and semi-commercial property, the principle is the same: borrow against the equity, keep the first loan, repay from a clear exit.
Borrowing
How much can you borrow on a second charge?
A second charge is sized on the equity available once your first mortgage is accounted for. We look at the property’s value, subtract the balance owed on the first charge, and lend against what remains – with the two loans combined staying within our loan to value limit. Proxima lends from £75k to £1m, up to 65% LTV against residential security, with lower limits on commercial and land where the market carries more risk.
A quick example: a property worth £1m with a £500k first mortgage has £500k of equity. At a combined 65% LTV, total borrowing could reach £650k, leaving room for a £150k second charge on top of the existing loan. Our bridging loan calculator shows both the gross and net figures, so there are no surprises about the amount that actually reaches you.
Cost
What does a second charge bridging loan cost?
A second charge is priced for the extra risk of sitting behind another lender. Because the first charge is repaid before ours if the property sells, the margin for a second charge lender is thinner – so rates on a second charge are typically higher than on an equivalent first charge bridge. Proxima rates start from 1% per month, charged monthly, with your exact rate driven by the equity headroom, the property type, and the strength of your exit.
On top of interest you should budget for an arrangement fee (normally 2% of the loan), a valuation, and legal costs, including any fee the first lender charges for consent. As with any bridge, interest can be retained, rolled up or serviced. Full detail sits on our bridging loan rates and costs page. Your property may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a loan secured against it – figures here are illustrative, not a quote or offer.
Bridging with Proxima
A lender that can actually complete
Proxima was founded by highly experienced operators who have overseen in excess of £500m of property lending, and you deal directly with the decision-makers rather than a panel or committee. A prompt decision in principle lands within 24 hours, and best-in-class solicitors with market-leading title indemnity keep completion fast and certain.
FAQs
Second charge bridging questions, answered
Are second charge loans a good idea?
For the right purpose, yes. A second charge is well-suited to raising capital quickly against equity while keeping a valuable first mortgage in place – sidestepping an early repayment charge or the loss of a low fixed rate. It costs more than a first charge because of the risk it carries, so it works best over a short term with a clear exit. Where those conditions hold, it does a job a full remortgage cannot.
Can a lender refuse a second charge?
Yes. Because a second charge ranks behind the first, the first charge lender is asked for consent and can decline or attach conditions. A second charge lender can also decline if there is not enough equity headroom or the exit is weak. Starting the consent process early, with a clean case, is the surest way to keep a second charge moving.
Can I sell a property with a second charge on it?
Yes. When the property sells, the sale proceeds repay the first charge first, then the second charge, with any surplus coming to you. Selling is one of the most common exits for a second charge bridging loan – the loan is simply redeemed at completion from the sale money, in charge order.
How do I remove a second charge from my property?
You clear it through your exit, repaying the balance in full, at which point the charge is removed from the title. That usually means selling the security or another asset, or refinancing onto a longer-term facility that pays the second charge off. Once redeemed, the second charge lender releases its charge and the property returns to a single first charge.
How quickly can a second charge complete?
We issue a decision in principle within 24 hours and can complete in days once the valuation and the first lender’s consent are in. Consent is normally the pacing item, so we begin it at the outset. See fast bridging loans for how we compress the timeline.
Have a deal in mind?
Tell us about it and you’ll get an honest, commercial view the same day direct from decision makers.
