Light & Heavy Refurbishment Finance

Refurbishment Bridging Loans

A refurbishment bridging loan funds the cost of buying and improving a property when speed matters more than the lender's tickbox. Whether you're flipping a tired terrace, converting a property to an HMO, or upgrading a buy-to-let between tenants, bridging gives you the cash to complete and renovate before refinancing or selling on.

Rated 4.8/5 by property professionals · From 0.37% pm · 250+ lender panel · No upfront fees

£100k – £15m

Loan Size

1 – 24 months

Typical Term

Up to 85% LTV

Typical LTV

Key Features

What We Offer

Light & heavy refurbishment funded

Cosmetic upgrades through full structural overhauls, conversions and change-of-use schemes — we match the facility to the scope of works.

Purchase + works in one facility

Day-one advance funds the purchase up to LTV, works budget held in retention and released against the surveyor's progress reports.

Light refurb in 7–10 working days

No staged drawdown overhead — funds in one tranche, completion fast. Heavy refurb adds a few days for the staged structure.

Buy, refurbish, refinance (BRR)

Buy below market, renovate to uplift, refinance onto a long-term product at the improved value — extracting your capital.

No early repayment charges after month 3

Exit when you're ready, not when the lender prefers. Standard across our refurbishment panel.

1st and 2nd charge available

Need to keep the existing senior facility in place? We have lenders who take a clean second charge against the project.

Ideal For

Common Scenarios

Investors flipping for resale

Buy below market, refurb, sell at full value within 6–12 months. Light refurb deals routinely complete in 7–10 working days.

Landlords adding to their portfolio

Buy a doer-upper, refurb to lettable standard, refinance onto a buy-to-let mortgage at the post-works valuation.

HMO converters

Buy a 3–4 bed house, convert to a 5–6 room HMO, refinance on the higher post-works valuation. Specialist lenders for HMO conversions.

Auction buyers

Properties bought at auction often need work to be mortgageable. Bridging covers both the purchase and the refurbishment in one facility.

Two Routes

Light vs Heavy Refurbishment

We split refurbishment bridging into two routes. The choice drives both the speed of completion and which lenders compete for your deal.

Light Refurbishment

Cosmetic and non-structural work. New kitchens, bathrooms, redecoration, flooring, light electrical. No planning permission, no building regs sign-off needed. Funds drawn in one tranche.

Rates from 0.45% pcm · 7–10 days to complete

Heavy Refurbishment

Structural work, extensions, loft conversions, change of use, anything requiring planning consent or building regs. Funds drawn in stages against works completed.

Rates from 0.58% pcm · 10–15 days to complete

Heavy Refurb In Detail

Heavy Refurbishment Finance

What counts as heavy refurbishment. Heavy refurb sits between cosmetic light-touch work and ground-up development. It typically involves one or more of: structural alteration (load-bearing walls, new openings, foundation work), change of use (commercial-to-resi, single-dwelling-to-HMO), planning permission required (loft conversion, side or rear extension, basement dig-out), or a gross development value (GDV) uplift of 15% or more on the post-works valuation. If any of those apply, the deal needs a heavy refurbishment facility rather than a light refurb bridge.

Why heavy refurb sits between bridging and development finance. Pure development finance is geared around build-cost drawdown against a clean planning permission and a programme of works. Standard bridging assumes the property is broadly mortgageable at funding day. Heavy refurbishment finance bridges that gap — the asset is being materially changed, so the lender underwrites both the day-one position (purchase + current value) and the end position (GDV after works), and structures drawdown around interim QS-validated progress. It's a hybrid product, and lender appetite varies sharply with the works profile.

LTV bands typically available. On day one, expect 70–75% of the current open-market value to fund the purchase. The works budget then sits on top, retained by the lender and released in tranches. Total exposure is capped on a loan-to-GDV basis — typically up to 70% LTGDV for clean cases, sometimes 75% with strong sponsor track record and conservative GDV. The implication: borrowers don't always need to fund the works budget from their own capital, but they do need to contribute the GDV gap.

Drawdown structure. Funds release in stages, validated by a Quantity Surveyor or monitoring surveyor instructed by the lender. Typical pattern: 30–40% on completion of demolition and strip-out; further tranches on first-fix electrics/plumbing, second-fix and plastering, kitchen/bathroom install, and final snag-and-completion. The QS visits site to confirm progress before each release. This adds 2–3 working days per drawdown but protects both lender and borrower from cost overrun spirals.

Typical timelines. Heavy refurb facilities run 3–12 months in most cases, with 12 months the standard headline term to allow for slippage. Schemes that genuinely need 18 months are usually edging toward needing development finance instead. Exit is normally either sale (flip) or refinance onto a buy-to-let or commercial-mortgage on the post-works valuation — our bridging calculator gives a quick scenario read; for a live scheme, arrange a call.

How It Works

From Application to Completion of Works

Application

Tell us about the property, the works, and your exit (sale or refinance). We do a soft credit footprint at this stage only — no hard search until you're ready to proceed.

Decision in principle

Typically same day or next morning, with indicative LTV and rate. A DIP letter gives you something concrete to work with for offers, deposits, and solicitor instructions.

Valuation

A RICS surveyor values both the current state ("market value") and the post-works value ("gross development value" or GDV). The valuation drives the maximum loan size.

Legals

Your solicitor and ours work in parallel. We push to complete inside 14 days for straightforward cases. Light refurb without complications often closes in 7.

Drawdown & exit

Funds released to your solicitor on completion. For heavy refurb, the works budget is held back and released in tranches as the project progresses. You exit by refinancing or selling.

Loan Parameters

Headline Numbers

Loan size

£100,000 – £15m

LTV

Up to 85% on day one. Works funded on top against GDV.

Term

1 – 24 months

Rates

From 0.45% pcm (light) / 0.58% pcm (heavy)

Charges

1st and 2nd charge available

ERCs

None after month 3

Common Questions

Refurbishment Bridging FAQ

Can I borrow for both the purchase and the refurbishment?

Yes. The day-one advance funds the purchase up to our LTV limit, and the works budget is held in retention and released against the surveyor's progress reports.

Do I need planning permission to apply?

Not for light refurbishment. For heavy refurbishment with planning, we expect permission to be granted before drawdown — though we can lend in principle on the basis that it's pending.

What if the works run over budget?

We build a 10–15% contingency into the works schedule. If the project genuinely overruns, we'd rather restructure the loan than let the project stall — talk to us early.

How fast can a refurbishment bridge complete?

Light refurb deals routinely complete in 7–10 working days from application. Heavy refurb adds a few days for the staged drawdown structure to be agreed.

Can I exit by refinancing rather than selling?

Absolutely — most of our refurbishment clients refinance onto a buy-to-let or commercial mortgage on the post-works valuation. We can introduce you to refinance brokers if useful.

What is heavy refurbishment finance?

Heavy refurbishment finance is a short-term loan structured for property projects involving structural change, change of use, planning-permission works, or a gross development value uplift of 15% or more. It sits between standard bridging (where the property is already broadly mortgageable) and development finance (ground-up construction). Funds release in stages against QS-validated progress reports, with the works budget retained by the lender on day one.

How does heavy refurbishment funding differ from a standard bridging loan?

A standard bridge assumes the asset is mortgageable at funding day and lends against current open-market value. Heavy refurbishment funding underwrites both the day-one position and the post-works GDV, structures drawdown in stages tied to a QS report, and runs longer terms (3–12 months typical) to allow for the works programme. Pricing is typically 0.10–0.20% pcm higher than a light refurb bridge to reflect the additional underwriting complexity.

What heavy refurbishment loan rates are available in 2026?

Heavy refurbishment loan rates in 2026 typically start from around 0.58% per month for clean cases at sub-65% LTV with a clear sale or refinance exit. Pricing widens with leverage, works complexity, and exit risk — heavier structural works at 70-75% LTGDV typically price 0.85–1.10% pcm. Live rate movements across our 250+ product panel are published on our rates page, updated daily.