For a long time, bridging loans had been a seldomly used and often expensive finance facility, but they have now evolved into a much lower cost finance option that has many uses.
With the majority of bridging loans being unregulated, it is so important to use a good lender. But how do you know which of the many lenders are the best?
Following the credit crunch in 2008, the High Street banks withdrew their low volume high risk products in order to concentrate their resources into dealing with their main products, like overdrafts, bank loans and residential mortgages.
This meant that people who were looking for bridging loans now had to look elsewhere. KIS Finance, along with other existing finance providers ventured into bridging at this point. Many new lenders, who were just looking to provide short term bridging loans, also took the opportunity to set up.
Since then, bridging loans have advanced and now offer so much more than they used to. For example, despite base interest rates increasing, bridging has become much cheaper. This has led bridging to become an increasingly popular method of finance for what is now quite an evolved range of uses.
There are now hundreds of bridging lenders, most of whom are unregulated, with around 20 lenders being regulated by the FCA.
With bridging still being very new, and most people having no experience of bridging, how do borrowers know which bridging lenders are the best ones to use and obtain bridging loan quotes from, and who should be avoided?
At KIS Bridging Loans we are completely independent bridging brokers, who have been one of the UKs main bridging loan providers for the past 18 years. We have seen many lenders enter and leave the market and have experienced, first hand, a huge number of changes in the bridging industry.
To help people who are looking for a bridging loan, we have put together a comprehensive and thoughtful list of who we feel are currently the 12 best bridging loan lenders.
We have compiled a carefully considered list of 12 bridging finance providers who we feel currently offer the strongest propositions in the UK market. The list includes both regulated and unregulated bridging lenders and is presented in no particular order.
The cheapest lenders in the market are featured in this list, because they are also very good in a number of other areas – certainty is also important in bridging
We favour lenders with experienced underwriting teams, dependable funding and decision-makers who understand the transaction before issuing terms.
| Name | Location | Best For | Services | Rates from | Max LTV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precise Mortgages | Hampshire | Low interest rates, low set up costs, dual representation, AVMs and a fast service | Regulated and unregulated bridging | 0.54% pm | 75% OMV |
| Octopus Property | Newcastle | Low rates, AVMs, second charge bridging loans | Regulated and unregulated bridging | 0.55% pm | 70% OMV |
| United Trust Bank (UTB) | London | Low rates for first and second charge bridging, lease extensions and non standard construction | Regulated and unregulated bridging | 0.57% pm | 75% OMV |
| Market Harborough Building Society - MHBS | Market Harborough | Low rates and regulated loan terms over 12 months - 2 year and 5 year plans | Regulated and unregulated bridging | 0.53% pm | 75% OMV |
| Glenhawk | London | Low interest rates, dual legal representation, commercial properties and land with planning | Regulated and unregulated bridging | 0.62% pm | 75% OMV |
| Streambank | Cardiff | Re-bridging, flexible underwriting for adverse credit, and will provide second charge bridging | Regulated and unregulated bridging | 0.59% pm | 75% OMV |
| MT Finance | London | Very competitive for adverse credit cases and also second charge bridging | Regulated and unregulated bridging | 0.89% pm | 70% Regulated, |
| Funding 365 | London | Competitive rates for high LTV loans, large loans, commercial and semi-commercial property. Also offer a 0.49% stepped rate plan – unfortunately this leads to misleading adverts that state rates from 0.49% | Unregulated bridging only | 0.64% pm | 75% OMV |
| Hampshire Trust Bank – HTB | London | Competitive rates for high LTV loans, large loans, commercial and semi-commercial property | Unregulated bridging only | 0.75% pm | 85% OMV |
| Castle Trust Bank | London | Will lend to 80% LTV (net) at a competitive interest rate | Unregulated bridging only | 0.70% pm | 80% net OMV |
| Lendinvest | London | Will lend to 85% LTV gross for refurbishment projects and will lend against commercial property | Unregulated bridging only | 0.82% pm | 85% OMV |
| Octane Capital | London | Competitive interest rates and a plan for 75% LTV net plus 100% refurbishment costs | Unregulated bridging only | 0.73% pm | 75% net OMV |
Precise Mortgages started offering bridging loans back in 2012. Charter Court Financial Services, the parent company of Precise Mortgages, was acquired by One Savings Bank in October 2019.
Since then, Precise have continually made good use of the many years of experience they have had in this sector, providing excellent all round bridging products.
For the past 10 or so years, Precise have been one of the largest providers of bridging loans, with both their interest rates and set up costs being consistently amongst the most competitive in the market.
Precise provide both regulated and unregulated bridging loans, and are one of a small number of lenders who calculate interest on unregulated agreements using the roll up method, rather than the retained interest method. This is much better for the borrower – For more information see roll up verses retained interest.
They will not lend on semi-commercial or full commercial properties, except when they are being converted to residential. For commercial property Interbay, another bridging lender in the One Savings Bank Group, do provide bridging loans that can be secured on semi commercial and full commercial properties.
Precise currently provide first and second charge bridging loans, and will take a second charge on any properties being used as additional security.
Octopus Property was previously known as Dragonfly Property Finance, which was set up in 2009 before rebranding to Octopus Property in 2016. In May 2025 they became part of Octopus Real Estate, which has operated under the Octopus Capital brand.
They are part of the Octopus Group, and within this group is also Octopus Energy, well known as one of the UK’s main energy suppliers.
Octopus have competitive interest rates.
They are an FCA regulated lender who provide bridging loans ranging from £50,000 to £1 million.
Their maximum loan to value for regulated loans is 65%, and slightly more at 70% for unregulated loans.
United Trust Bank started trading way back in 1955, then they mainly provided development finance. In 2001 they were acquired by Insinger de Beaufort, an Anglo-Dutch Bank, then in 2003 there was a management buyout.
Today United Trust Bank are a completely independent Bank.
UTB have been providing bridging loans since 2010, during which time they have always provided competitive interest rates on their bridging products.
Where they stand out is due to their flexible lending criteria and providing low rate loans where others won’t. They have no upper age restrictions, so are often the go to lender for older applicants, especially those who are over 80 years old.
UTB are one of only a handful of lenders who roll up interest on unregulated loans, whereas most other regulated lenders revert to the retained interest method on unregulated loan facilities. For like for like loans where interest is paid at the end of the term, interest charged on roll up as opposed to retained interest works out cheaper for the borrower.
They have first charge interest rates starting from 0.57% per month (up to 50% LTV) for regulated bridging loans over £500,000. The rate is 0.58% per month for loans under £500,000.
With regards to second charge bridging loans, UTB are one of a small number of lenders who provide these, and for this their rates are competitive. Second charge interest rates range from 0.90% per month up to 0.95% per month and they will lend up to 70% LTV which is a leading maximum LTV for second charge bridging.
Market Harborough Building Society is the oldest lender on our top 12 list, having started trading back in 1870. They started to openly provide bridging loans in March 2022, to High Net Worth (HNW) borrowers.
MHBS offer attractive interest rates, but what makes them unique is that they can provide regulated loans with terms over 12 months. They offer regulated bridging loans with up to 24 month terms, and for some borrowers they can offer up to 60 months loan terms.
For loans over 12 months, borrowers will need to be able to afford and budget to make the monthly repayments, or they can have roll up interest over some or all of the loan term, provided that they are classed as High Net Worth (HNW).
To qualify for High Net Worth a client will need to have £3 million or more in net assets, or earn in excess of £300,000 per year.
Interest rates start from 0.53% per month on a limited basis, or more generally from 0.57% per month.
Glenhawk was set up as a bridging loan lender in January 2018 by Guy Harrington, with backing from Rightmove founder Harry Hill.
The lender has been very successful and has experienced fast growth.
November 2025 - They have a funding capacity of over £700 million and are looking to soon hit an annual lending target of £1 billion.
Having become FCA regulated in 2020, they now provide both regulated and unregulated bridging loans with interest rates starting from just 0.62% per month for limited facilities, but more often 0.69%. They are also able to provide loans up to 75% LTV with rates as low as 0.69% per month for again a limited number of facilities.
They are one of a limited numbers of lenders who will lend on semi commercial and full commercial properties.
Glenhawk are also good for re-bridging bridging loans from other lenders that have reached the end of their term.
When looking at the amount of time trading, Streambank are the least experienced lender in our 12 best bridging lenders list. But they have good funding lines and a strong team made up of individuals who have huge bridging experience.
StreamBank was established in May 2019, set up specifically as a regulated bridging loan lender, obtaining their FCA authorisation on 28th June 2022, then their unrestricted banking licence in February 2023.
They put in place a team made up of individuals who had significant bridging industry experience, then started trading in October 2023. Since then they have grown quickly thanks to a good funding line, competitive interest rates, high loan to values and the experienced bridging industry team.
Their minimum loan size is £100,000 and maximum is £3 million. As an FCA regulated lender they provide both regulated and unregulated bridging loans.
Best interest rate is currently 0.59% per month, and they remain competitive with other lenders right up to 75% LTV.
Stream Bank have more flexibility than lenders like Precise and Octopus with regards to adverse credit, they also offer second charge bridging loans and are good at re-bridging, especially for cases that are less straightforward.
MT Finance was set up in 2008 by Tomer Aboody and Joshua Elash, to specifically provide bridging loans. They were very quick to recognise the potential for bridging loans and were one of the first lenders to set up following the Credit Crunch.
They initially just provided unregulated bridging loans, later becoming a regulated lender and expanding into regulated bridging along with other finance products including secured loans, buy to lets and commercial mortgages.
Regulated loans are available up to 70% LTV, and unregulated are capped a little more at 75% LTV, when secured against residential property.
For both regulated and unregulated loans the minimum loan size is £50,000, but sometimes they will provide facilities for lower amounts on a referral basis. The maximum size for a regulated loans with MT Finance is £2.5 million and for unregulated loans this is increased to £10 million.
MT Finance can provide loans where there is a lot of adverse credit, and will also provide second charge bridging loans. For both adverse credit and second charge lending their rates are competitive.
As for where they will lend, this is limited to mainland England and Wales, they can’t lend in Scotland or Northern Ireland at present.
Funding 365 was set up as a bridging loan provider back in 2013 by Mike Strange and Jeff Stolz.
In June 2026 Funding 365 was acquired by Balbec Capital. They also secured a new £300 million funding facility, and launched refurbishment lending to 75% net LTV.
With over 13 years trading experience they are one of the more experienced lenders and are known for their speed and competitive deals.
They have been useful for providing large size loans which are secured against single high value properties. Many lenders don’t like providing large loans that are secured against just one high value property as they can be difficult to sell, and the values of these types of properties can be unpredictable and subject to significant price swings.
Having been acquired by Balbec Capital we need to see how things may now change. The positive strengths Funding 365 had previously was that their owner was very hands on, and once he made a decision about lending he would stick to it. Now that there is a new owner, hopefully this very positive practice remains.
New ownership has led to some other changes. There is now a new £300 million funding facility and refurbishment lending to 75% net LTV.
They have also launched a stepped interest rate plan starting from 0.39% per month. We are not a fan of these, because they are usually put in place to advertise misleading rates.
0.39% is a leading rate, except that it is stepped. 0.39% for 6 months and then the rate increases to 1.15% from month 6. There is also a 3 month minimum term and most importantly a 1.15% exit fee. This exit fee wipes any benefit received from the lower rate.
We believe lenders should just say what their monthly rates are and then fix them for the term of the loan. It's what the lowest cost lenders all do.
Hampshire Trust Bank started trading back in 1977 where they provided mortgages to homebuyers in and around Portsmouth. In May 2014 they were acquired by Alchemy Partners who are a private equity Firm.
Although they have had bridging loans as part of their products since 2016, they hadn’t been very active in this market until October 2022, when they relaunched with more bridging products and a new team made up of individuals who all had considerable previous experience in the bridging industry.
Hampshire Trust Bank interest rates start from 0.75% per month and only provide unregulated bridging loans with loan terms up to 24 months. Their loans range in size from £100,000 to normally £10 million, but can lend up to £25 million for development exit funding.
HTB are one of a more limited number of bridging lenders who provide bridging secured against commercial properties, where they offer rates from 0.9% per month.
Since they don’t tier, their rates are competitive for loans that are of a high loan to value, as unlike most other lenders they don’t tend to have increased rates for higher loan to values. So not as competitive for low LTV loans, but very competitive for high LTV facilities.
Castle Trust Bank started trading back in October 2012, known then as Castle Trust. They entered the finance market as a specialist mortgage provider, then in June 2020 they received their banking licence and became Castle Trust Bank.
Bridging loans have been one of their products for many years, but it has only been since late 2022 that Castle Trust introduced a range of useful and interesting bridging loan options.
They only provide unregulated bridging loans, but they are one of a limited number of lenders who will lend in Scotland, along with England and Wales.
Castle Trust Bank have a market leading product that lends up to 80% LTV net based on an open market valuation, with an interest rate of just 0.7% per month!
Established back in 2008 when the growth in the demand for bridging loans was just starting, Lendinvest was originally known as Montello Capital Partners and Montello Bridging Finance. In 2013 Montello was rebranded and Lendinvest was officially launched.
Lendinvest provide bridging loans from £75,000 and will lend on land with planning permission up to 60% LTV.
They will also lend on refurbishment projects up to 85% LTV gross.
Octane Capital started trading in May 2017, and was founded by Mark Posniak, Jonathan Samuels and Matt Smith.
Then in March 2026, Aldermore Group acquired a £465 million bridging-loan portfolio and associated capability from Octane Capital.
Octane now operates as a trading name of Aldermore Bank PLC.
Interest rates start from 0.69% for enhanced developer exit loans
They specialise in providing bridging loans for refurbishment projects and development exit loans.
Unlike other lenders, Octane offer loans up to 75% net, and will also provide 100% of the refurbishment costs.
Octane will roll their interest rather than deduct it, which like for like works out cheaper for the borrower.
The team has lots of experience of developments and are a lender who borrowers can talk to and arrange loan facilities that suit their circumstances best. For example, they are flexible with regards to Personal Guarantees (PGs) and also how sale proceeds are split as units are sold.
Masthaven: In 2016 they obtained a UK banking licence. In 2019 Andrew Bloom sold his controlling interest, but in 2024 he purchased back much of the assets.
They have changed over the years, but are now back providing a useful range of bridging facilities.
They are not competing in terms of offering the lowest rates, but they are providing competitive bridging, when compared to other lenders offering the same, on facilities for borrowers who have poor credit or other issues that many lenders will decline.
We find Masthaven very competitive for bridging where borrowers have a poor credit history, and also for second charge bridging.
However, there is an unusual clause in their terms that says “If your loan has not completed within 3 months of application, Masthaven Finance may require 50% of the product fee to be paid upfront which will be non-refundable.”
By product fee, this is the lender facility fee, normally 2% of the loan amount. So they will be looking for 1% of the loan amount applied for, before the loan is drawn!
The terms say ‘may require’, and we have not had a problem regarding this with any of our clients to date. However this is an unusual clause, and one to be aware of.
A broker’s job is not merely to find a lender willing to provide the money. It is to identify the most suitable lender, negotiate the best overall terms available and manage the application through to completion with as little delay and unnecessary expense as possible.
We also believe that a broker has a responsibility to consider the lender’s conduct. Protecting the client means looking beyond the initial rate and taking account of the lender’s fees, documentation, reliability, servicing standards and approach to borrowers who experience genuine difficulties.
To learn more about what to look out for with regards to good and bad bridging lenders and deals, please read our section The Good The Bad and The Ugly of Bridging Loans. This tells you everything that you should really know before taking out a bridging loan, and is also very helpful if you already have one.
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