How a Specialist Broker Arranges a £2m+ UK Bridging Facility
A £2 million-plus UK bridging facility runs through six stages from first call to redemption. The first three stages decide the outcome: scoping the exit, confirming the regulated status, identifying the right lender route. The remaining three stages execute the deal: total-cost comparison, offer letter review, completion and exit management. Most of the cost saving and most of the case risk live in the first three stages. This page covers the full process end to end, with two anonymised case studies from facilities we have arranged. It is the closing part of the broker's guide and the page that demonstrates what the work actually looks like.
Series: The Large Loan Broker's Guide to UK Bridging Finance
Part 10 of 10. Start at the parent page.
What happens in the first call?
I want to understand the case quickly: the property, the loan size, the term you need, and the exit. I want to know who the borrower is, where the income comes from, what the wider asset position looks like, and what structure the property is held in. I want to confirm whether the case is regulated or unregulated. And I want to identify which lender route is the right fit, because that single decision moves the rate by 0.30% to 0.40% per month.
By the end of the first call on most HNW bridging enquiries, I can tell you whether the case is workable, what range the rate is likely to land in, and what evidence we will need for the application. Most first calls take thirty to forty-five minutes. Cases with complex structures or atypical security take longer at the front, and that is by design. The decisions made early in the process are the ones that determine the outcome.
After the first call, what we usually find is that we can come back to you within a couple of hours with indicative terms from one or two lenders. Sometimes the route is obvious on the call itself, in which case I will tell you on the call. Either way, you have a sense of what is possible before the day is out.
The six stages, in detail
Scope the case and define the exit
Every case starts with the exit. Sale of the security, refinance onto a term mortgage, portfolio liquidation, trust distribution, business sale proceeds. The exit decides the term, the structure and the lender shortlist. Where the exit is weak, we focus on strengthening it before approaching lenders. Where it is strong, we use the strength to push pricing.
Confirm regulated or unregulated status
Run the case through the regulated test. Is the property a primary residence or intended for occupation. Who lives there. What is the ownership structure. What is the term required. Confirm in writing before any lender is approached. Where the FCA high net worth rules is relevant, confirm the borrower meets the FCA wealth definition and the case is structured to engage the exemption.
Identify the right lender route
Private bank, specialist HNW, or family office. The route is decided by five questions: wealth criteria coverage, willingness for wider banking relationship, speed versus rate priority, fit with private bank appetite, existing relationships. Most cases settle into a route after question three. The route is set before any lender is approached.
Run competitive terms through total cost arithmetic
Each lender's offer is run through the same arithmetic: rate over term, plus arrangement fee, valuation, lender legal, borrower legal, exit administration, any minimum interest period. The decision is made on total cost in pounds over the planned term, not headline rate. The borrower sees the comparison in one document.
Review the offer letter clause by clause
Every clause in the offer letter is read before the borrower signs. Anything unclear is queried. Anything misaligned is negotiated. Anything that would create a problem during the term or at exit is addressed at offer stage rather than later. The borrower signs when the terms are clean and we are confident they will hold to completion.
Coordinate completion and track the exit
We sit between the valuer, lender's solicitor, borrower's solicitor, and lender underwriter. Active case management is where weeks are saved. After drawdown, the exit is tracked through the term. Slippage is addressed early, not at term end. Most facilities we arrange exit on or before the planned date.
What documentation is needed for a £2m+ HNW bridging case?
The pack is more substantial than on a standard case. It is not optional. The lenders that write the segment expect the pack; lenders that do not write the segment ask for it and cannot then use it. A well-prepared pack covers seven categories.
| Category | Documents |
|---|---|
| Income | Two most recent years tax returns, P60s where employed, accountant certificate, partnership/fund agreements where applicable |
| Assets | Statement of assets and liabilities, supporting valuations for material assets (property, business, securities) |
| Source of wealth | Narrative documenting accumulation, supporting evidence where the source is not obvious from income and assets |
| Structure | Trust deed, partnership agreement, offshore vehicle documents, family investment company documents, trustee resolutions where relevant |
| Property | Title, planning history, building control history, current valuation or marketing evidence, photographs and access details |
| Exit | Sale contract, mortgage offer, business sale documentation, portfolio liquidation plan, trust distribution schedule, or other evidence of how the bridging will be repaid |
| KYC and AML | Passport, proof of address, source of funds evidence for property acquisition, FCA standard AML documentation |
What I have noticed across HNW cases over the years is that the borrowers who arrive with most of the pack already assembled complete materially faster than those who assemble it during the application. The work is not difficult; it is substantial. Doing it at the front of the case removes weeks from the timeline.
Two case studies: how the process actually runs
Anonymised cases from facilities we have arranged. Both are illustrative of the work; the details are obscured where confidentiality requires.
Case study 1: £4.2m HNW chain break, primary residence held through Jersey SPV
Borrower: Senior partner at a London-based fund. Base salary £320,000. Partnership profit share £240,000. Substantial carried interest entitlement. UK primary residence held through a Jersey SPV owned by a discretionary family trust
Case: Onward purchase in West London, £6.5m. Existing primary residence valued at £7.2m, to be sold. Chain on the existing property collapsed three weeks before exchange on the onward. Borrower needed to complete the onward to retain it.
First call (Day 1): 40-minute scoping. Exit confirmed as sale of existing residence. Regulated status confirmed (primary residence held through SPV owned by family trust, with borrower as named beneficiary occupying the property). the FCA high net worth rules engaged for the term envelope. Lender route identified as UK private bank where borrower had existing investment management relationship.
Stage 2 (Day 1 to Day 4): Regulated status confirmed in writing. HNW evidence pack requested from borrower's accountant. Trust deed and Jersey SPV documents requested from borrower's lawyer.
Stage 3 (Day 5 to Day 8): Application submitted to private bank, who had existing relationship with the borrower's investment account. Indicative terms received Day 8: 0.42% per month, the FCA high net worth rules regulated, 18-month term, sub-65% LTV, retained interest.
Stage 4 (Day 8 to Day 10): Indicative terms run through total cost arithmetic alongside two specialist HNW lender comparison quotes. Private bank route saving approximately £145,000 over 18 months versus next best alternative. Borrower agreed to the private bank route.
Stage 5 (Day 11 to Day 28): Formal offer issued Day 18. Offer letter reviewed clause by clause Day 19 to 21. One clause on partial redemption flexibility queried and amended Day 22. Borrower signed Day 25. Drawdown set for Day 28.
Stage 6 (Day 28 onwards): Onward purchase completed Day 30. Existing residence listed Day 35, sold subject to contract Day 78, exchanged Day 108, completed Day 134. Bridge redeemed in full Day 135. Total facility term: 4.5 months. Total cost £72,000 against initial 18-month illustration of £255,000.
Outcome: Borrower completed both transactions cleanly through a 90-day window. Family trust structure unchanged. Jersey SPV unchanged. Private bank relationship now anchors borrower's wider banking with full investment management and Lombard facility in place.
Case study 2: £2.8m development exit refinance, central London apartment scheme
Borrower: Established HNW property developer, ltd company SPV holding a 9-apartment refurbishment scheme in central London. Two prior schemes completed in profit. Borrower's wider holdings include a family investment company with additional commercial property.
Case: Practical completion received on the scheme. Senior development facility maturing in 8 weeks at £2.4m outstanding. Sales process commenced but only one of nine units exchanged. Borrower needed to refinance the development facility to remove redemption pressure and complete sales at sensible pricing.
First call (Day 1): 35-minute scoping. Exit confirmed as unit sales over a 12 to 15-month window. Regulated status confirmed as unregulated (corporate borrower, units are trading stock). Lender route identified as specialist HNW commercial bridging lender with strong dev exit appetite.
Stage 2 (Day 2 to Day 3): GDV evidence requested from selling agent. Marketing material and comparable evidence assembled. Borrower's track record documented (two prior schemes, completion certificates).
Stage 3 (Day 4 to Day 9): Application submitted. Indicative terms received Day 9: 0.65% per month, unregulated, 15-month term, 70% LTV against GDV of £4.1m, retained interest. Facility size £2.8m, providing £380,000 of equity release after redemption of the development facility and set-up costs.
Stage 4 (Day 9 to Day 11): Indicative terms run through total cost arithmetic. No comparable quote from second lender was needed; the specialist HNW route was clearly the right one for this case, and the indicative terms were within expected range. Borrower confirmed Day 11.
Stage 5 (Day 12 to Day 24): Valuation instructed Day 12, completed Day 18. Formal offer issued Day 21. Offer letter reviewed Day 22 to 23. Borrower signed Day 24.
Stage 6 (Day 25 to Day 28): Legal work, redemption statement on development facility, drawdown coordinated. Drawdown completed Day 28. Development facility redeemed. Equity release used by borrower to fund deposit on next scheme acquisition.
Sales outcome: 4 units exchanged at month 6. Further 3 units at month 11. Final 2 units at month 14. Bridge redeemed in full at month 15 from sales completions.
Outcome: Borrower exited the development facility cleanly, refinanced into a lower-cost bridge, released equity to fund the next acquisition, and sold the scheme units at full pricing without redemption pressure. Total interest cost saving on the dev exit refinance versus running the original facility: approximately £48,000 over 15 months.
What does FD Commercial do differently?
What moves the outcome on a HNW bridging facility happens in the first three stages of the process, not the last three. Anyone can fill in an application form. The work that decides the outcome is the work that happens before the application is submitted.
Most cases that overpay on a UK bridging facility do so because they were routed to the wrong lender tier at the start. Route selection is where the rate is moved, and we work through it carefully on every case before approaching any lender. From there it is about the lender relationships. Our experience of arranging hundreds of bridging facilities means we have long-nurtured relationships with the right people at lenders, solicitors and valuation firms, not just the institutions but the actual people inside them. The lenders we work with regularly know how we present a case, so the friction at every stage is much lower than on a cold submission. And once the application is submitted, the client deals with us; we deal with everyone else. Valuer, lender's solicitor, client's solicitor, lender underwriter, selling agent on the exit, refinance lender on the exit. Your job probably keeps you busy doing what it is that you do, and you probably do not have time to be chasing lenders, chasing surveyors, chasing solicitors. That is where I come in. I will manage the whole process from start to finish.
You need to know that you won't be let down, that the lender understands the complexities, and will deliver. That comes from twenty years of work building the relationships and from running the process actively on every case.
What I have learned over twenty years of running HNW bridging cases is that there is usually one specific moment in each case where the outcome is decided. On the £4.2m Jersey SPV case above, it was Day 21, the offer letter clause on partial redemption flexibility was misaligned with the borrower's planned exit and was queried before signing. Had that gone unchallenged, the borrower would have faced a redemption issue at month four when partial sales completed. On the £2.8m dev exit case, the moment was Day 11, the decision not to run a competitive process and to go directly to the lender best matched to the case, saving four working days at the start of a fifteen-month facility. The work that matters most is rarely the work that takes the most time.
The specialist broker's process: frequently asked questions
How does a specialist broker arrange a £2m+ UK bridging facility?
In six stages: scope the exit, confirm regulated status, identify the lender route, run total-cost comparison, review the offer letter clause by clause, coordinate completion and track the exit.
How long does the full process take?
Three to four weeks for a clean case. Faster is possible. Slower happens on private bank routes (4 to 8 weeks), offshore structures, or properties with title or planning complications.
What happens in the first call?
Four things: scope of case, borrower profile, regulated status, lender route. By the end of the call the broker can tell the borrower whether the case is workable, what range it will price in, and what evidence is needed.
What does the broker do that the borrower cannot do directly?
Route selection, lender introduction, and structuring. Each moves the case into a better pricing band than a single-charge mainstream submission would deliver.
What documentation is needed?
Income (two years tax returns, P60s, accountant certificate), assets (statement plus valuations), source of wealth, structure documents, property documents, exit evidence, and KYC/AML.
What if the offer letter terms change before completion?
On lenders we work with regularly, the terms hold to completion. That outcome is the work of route selection and lender choice at the front, not a feature of any specific lender.
What costs are paid upfront?
Valuation fee (typically £1,500 to £5,000 on HNW property), borrower legal fees on milestone basis, sometimes a commitment fee at offer stage credited against arrangement fee at drawdown.
What happens at exit?
The bridging is redeemed from the exit event. We track the exit during the term and address slippage early. Most facilities exit on or before the planned date.
What if the exit slips after drawdown?
We have the conversation with the lender early. Two to three-month extensions typically cost a 0.5% to 1% renewal fee plus interest. The cost of a managed extension is materially less than the cost of a forced redemption.
Why do FD Commercial cases complete cleanly?
Relationships built over twenty years remove friction at every stage. Route work upfront ensures the case lands at the right lender. Active case management keeps every party moving. Three things, all in the first three stages.
This guide is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Case studies are anonymised illustrations of facilities arranged by Fox Davidson and FD Commercial; specific case details are obscured to protect borrower confidentiality. Rate, LTV and term references reflect arrangements as at May 2026 and depend on individual circumstances. Your property may be repossessed if you do not repay the loan as agreed.
End of the series. Thank you for reading. If you would like to discuss a large UK bridging facility with our team, call the number below or visit our team page.
If you are arranging a large UK bridging facility, call us. Twenty years of HNW property finance experience. Relationships across private banks, specialist HNW lenders and family office credit. From £250,000 to £10m+, across England, Scotland and Wales.
Call 03300 100315