Refinance the Development Lender at Practical Completion
Development Exit Finance
Development exit finance — sometimes called DevEx or completion bridging — refinances your development funder once the build is practically complete. It buys you time to sell units at full value rather than accept rushed offers, drops your monthly cost of capital, and removes the pressure of the development lender's deadline.
£500k – £15m
Loan Size
6 – 18 months
Typical Term
Up to 85% LTV
Typical LTV
Key Features
What We Offer
Redeem the development lender in full
Take out the development funder and park in a cheaper bridging facility for 6–18 months while sales complete in their natural timeframe.
Save 200–400 basis points monthly
Development lenders price 8–12% all-in plus arrangement fees. Once the build is complete and de-risked, that pricing is hard to justify.
No early repayment charges
As units sell, sale proceeds repay the bridge in tranches with no ERCs. You only pay interest on the outstanding balance.
Interest serviced or rolled
Your call. Service monthly to preserve net cash; roll to redemption for maximum cash-flow flexibility while the units sell.
Cash-out within LTV
Many developers raise additional cash at this point for the deposit on the next scheme — within the day-one LTV limit.
Extension-friendly structure
Sales sometimes take longer than expected. We'd rather restructure than let a good scheme stall — speak to us 60 days before term-end.
Ideal For
Common Scenarios
Scheme at practical completion, lender wants out
The development lender's term is about to expire and they want their money back. Development exit gives you 6–18 months' breathing room at a lower cost.
Sales slower than forecast
Sales are progressing but slower than your sales agent forecast. Development exit drops your monthly carry while you wait for the right buyers.
Stabilisation period needed
Want to refurbish or stage units before listing? Or hold completed units while a phased release plays out? Development exit funds the holding period.
Mixed exchange status
Some units exchanged, some not. Development exit factors exchanged units into the cashflow projection — exchanged-but-not-completed units are a positive signal.
When To Use
Is Development Exit the Right Tool?
You've reached practical completion (or near enough) and one or more of these is true:
- •The development lender's term is about to expire and they want their money back
- •Sales are progressing but slower than your sales agent forecast
- •Your development loan rate is high and eating margin every month it's outstanding
- •You want to refurbish or stage units before listing them
- •You're sitting on a few unsold units while the rest exchanged
How It Works
Refinance Mechanics
The loan is secured against the completed scheme. We lend against day-one valuation (the surveyor inspects the finished units), not against any expected uplift.
RICS surveyor confirms practical completion
Inspects the finished scheme and confirms current market value of each unit. The valuation drives the maximum loan size.
Redeem the development lender
In full. We pay them out and take first charge over the scheme. Two to three weeks is typical from instruction to redemption.
Interest rolled or serviced
Your call. Roll to redemption for cash-flow flexibility, or service monthly to preserve net cash position.
Tranched repayment as units sell
Sale proceeds repay the bridge in tranches with no early repayment charges. You only pay interest on the outstanding balance.
Final unit sale closes the facility
Last unit completes, last redemption clears the bridge. Done.
Capital Raise Variant
Capital Raise on Development Exit
A standard development exit (sometimes called a developer exit — the terms are used interchangeably) refinances the development lender at the existing debt level. A capital-raise development exit goes one step further: the new bridge is sized above the development lender's redemption figure, releasing equity back to the borrower at the same time as the refinance.
Why developers raise capital on exit. Three common reasons: deposit on the next site (the most common — capital tied up in stock isn't earning until units sell), rolling equity into a new SPV without liquidating, and partner or co-investor buy-out (where one shareholder wants out at practical completion rather than waiting for sales). All three are legitimate, well-understood lender use-cases, and a capital-raise development exit is structured precisely for them.
LTV that supports a meaningful capital raise. Standard development exit prices tightest at 65–70% LTV on completed unit value. A capital raise typically pushes that to 70–75% LTV — the highest band where pricing remains broadly competitive. Beyond 75% the rate steps up materially and lender choice narrows. Worked example: on a £5m scheme with a £3.2m development-lender redemption, a 70% LTV facility delivers around £3.5m of senior debt with around £300k of capital returned to the borrower at completion.
Pricing differential. Capital-raise variants typically price 0.05–0.10% per month above the straight-refinance equivalent — a modest premium reflecting the higher LTV exposure rather than any structural complexity. For most borrowers, the cost of the cash-out is meaningfully cheaper than alternative finance routes (mezzanine, second-charge, or partner equity).
Underwriting focus when a capital raise is in the mix. Lenders pay attention to two things in particular. First: the credibility of the next deployment — if the capital is going into a specific identified next site, the lender wants to see basic underwriting on that site (planning status, target acquisition, indicative exit). Second: the exit on the current scheme still has to stand on its own — the capital raise can't make the sales programme tighter. Run the numbers in our calculator, or arrange a call to discuss a live scheme.
Cost Benefit
Why It Pays To Refinance
Development lenders typically price at 8–12% all-in plus arrangement fees. Once the build is complete and de-risked, that pricing is hard to justify.
A development exit bridge prices closer to standard senior bridging — often saving 200–400 basis points per month.
Worked example
On a £5m scheme, a 200–400 bps reduction in monthly cost is £8,000–£17,000 saved a month. On a 12-month sales window, that's £96k–£200k of preserved margin.
Loan Parameters
Headline Numbers
Loan size
£500,000 – £15m
LTV
Up to 85% of completed unit value
Term
6 – 18 months
Rates
From 0.37% pcm
Interest
Serviced monthly OR rolled to redemption
ERCs
None — redeem as units sell
Common Questions
Development Exit FAQ
Do all units need to be 100% complete to qualify?
Can I take out cash on top of redeeming the development lender?
How quickly can development exit complete?
Will you lend if some units are already exchanged?
Can I extend if sales take longer than expected?
What is development exit finance?
Can I raise capital on a development exit loan?
How does development exit financing differ from refinance?
What is a developer exit product?
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Real Results
Deals We've Structured
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