Unregulated bridging loans · England & Wales
Unregulated bridging loans for property professionals
Fast, flexible short-term finance secured against investment and commercial property – from £75k to £10m. Built for investors, landlords and businesses who need a commercial decision, not a consumer checklist.
The basics
What is an unregulated bridging loan?
An unregulated bridging loan is short-term property finance secured against an asset held for business or investment purposes – rather than a home you or your family live in. The loan itself works like any other bridge: a lender takes a legal charge over the property, advances funds against its value and your exit, and the loan is redeemed in full at the end of a short term. What makes it “unregulated” is not the product or the lender, but the property behind it.
As the security is a buy-to-let, an HMO, a commercial unit, land or a property being refurbished for resale, an unregulated bridging loan sits outside the Financial Conduct Authority’s consumer-lending regime. That gives professional borrowers a faster, more commercial route to funding. At Proxima Capital we lend from £75k to £10m across England and Wales, assessed on the merits of each case.
The distinction
Regulated vs unregulated bridging loans
The line between the two is drawn by the property’s use, not by the borrower’s intentions or the lender’s marketing. A regulated bridging loan is secured against a property that you – or an immediate family member – currently occupy or intend to occupy as a home. Those loans fall under FCA consumer protection because a person’s residence is at stake.
An unregulated bridging loan is secured against property held as an investment or for commercial use – where no one in the borrower’s family lives, or intends to live. The great majority of bridging in the UK is unregulated for exactly this reason: most bridges fund investment purchases, refinances and business capital, not owner-occupied homes. It is the same short-term finance, assessed on a commercial rather than a consumer footing.
Who takes an unregulated bridge
Property investors, landlords, developers, limited companies and business owners – borrowers using property as a tool rather than a home. If you are buying a buy-to-let at auction, raising capital against a commercial unit, or funding a refurbishment before sale, you are almost certainly in unregulated territory.
When a bridge is regulated instead
If the security is your own home or one you plan to move into – for example, bridging a gap when a house purchase and sale fall out of sync – that is a regulated bridging loan, and different rules and protections apply. Where a case sits on the line, we tell you if it falls to be regulated before you commit.
Regulation, explained
Why unregulated bridges sit outside FCA rules
FCA consumer regulation exists to protect individuals borrowing against their own home, where the consequences of getting it wrong are personal and severe. When a loan is secured against a property held purely for investment or business, Parliament and the regulator treat the borrower as a commercial party who can weigh the risks – so those loans fall outside the consumer regime by design. “Unregulated” describes the legal category of the lending, not a lack of rigour.
In practice this means fewer prescribed processes and less consumer paperwork, which is a large part of why an unregulated bridge can move so quickly. It does not mean the loan is unstructured or informal. The security is still a legal charge, the valuation is still carried out by a qualified surveyor, and the terms are set out in a formal facility. A responsible lender applies the same care to an unregulated bridging loan that it would to any other; because a loan that cannot be repaid serves no one.
Uses
What you can use an unregulated bridge for
Any situation where investment or commercial property needs funding quickly and a clear exit is in place. Common cases we fund:
- → Buy-to-let, HMO and MUFB acquisitions before refinance
- → Buying at auction inside the 28-day deadline
- → Light or heavy refurbishment before sale or let
- → Commercial and semi-commercial purchases
- → Capital raising against existing investment equity
- → Conversion and small development
- → Land with the right planning position
- → Business cash flow secured on commercial premises
Assessment
How we assess an unregulated bridge
Outside the consumer regime, we assess a case commercially – on the strength of the asset, the plan and the exit. That is what gives an unregulated bridging loan its speed and flexibility. We can look at the merits of a deal directly rather than working through a prescribed affordability process built for owner-occupiers.
Cost & borrowing
What an unregulated bridging loan costs
Bridging interest is charged monthly, not annually, with Proxima rates from 0.85% per month. Your rate depends on the asset, the loan to value, the charge position and the strength of your exit. On top of interest you should budget for an arrangement fee (commonly around 2% of the loan), a valuation, and legal costs. Being unregulated does not change the cost structure, it simply removes consumer-specific requirements from the process. Full detail sits on our bridging loan rates and costs page.
How much you can borrow is driven by the property’s value and your LTV. Proxima lends from £75k to £10m, up to 75% LTV against investment security, with lower limits on commercial and land where the market moves the risk. Interest can be retained, rolled up or serviced to suit your cash flow, and our bridging loan calculator shows both the gross facility and the net advance that reaches you on day one.
The thing that matters
Why your exit strategy still matters most
Fewer consumer rules do not change the fundamental discipline of bridging: the loan is only as good as the plan to repay it. Your exit is usually the sale of the security or another asset, or a refinance onto a term mortgage, buy-to-let or development facility. 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.
We structure every case around the exit first, and if it doesn’t stack up we say so early rather than late. An unregulated bridging loan is still secured against property, so your property may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a loan secured against it, which is exactly why we stress-test the exit before we lend.
Bridging with Proxima
A commercial lender that can actually complete
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. We work with best-in-class solicitors and market-leading title indemnity to keep completion fast and certain.
FAQs
Unregulated bridging questions, answered
What is the difference between a regulated and unregulated loan?
The difference is the property behind the loan. A regulated loan is secured against a home you or an immediate family member live in or intend to occupy, and falls under FCA consumer protection. An unregulated loan is secured against investment or commercial property, held for business rather than as a home, and sits outside that consumer regime. Same product, different regulatory category – decided by the property’s use, not the lender.
What is an example of an unregulated loan?
A landlord using a bridge to buy a buy-to-let at auction, a developer funding a refurbishment before resale, or a business raising capital against a commercial unit are all examples of unregulated bridging. Because none of these properties is the borrower’s home, the lending falls outside FCA consumer regulation. Most bridging in the UK is unregulated for this reason.
Are bridging loans regulated in the UK?
Some are and some are not. Bridging secured against an owner-occupied home is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority; bridging secured against investment or commercial property is unregulated. The property’s use sets the category, so the same lender can offer both. If you are unsure which applies to your case, we will tell you before you proceed.
Are unregulated bridging loans safe?
“Unregulated” describes the legal category, not the quality of the lending. A well-structured unregulated bridge is a mainstream tool used every day by professional investors, with a formal facility, a proper valuation and a legal charge. The real risk in any bridge is a weak or delayed exit – so the sensible safeguard is to borrow against a credible plan to repay, on a sensible term. Your property may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a loan secured against it.
Have a deal in mind?
Tell us about it and you’ll get an honest, commercial view the same day direct from decision makers.
