Commercial bridging finance
Specialist Commercial Bridging Loans Dorset
Short-term lending against retail, office, industrial, leisure and mixed-use property across the BCP conurbation and the wider Dorset commercial market.
- Decisions in hours
- Completion in days
- £100k to £25m
- Dorset specialists
Dorset · Dorset
Bridge to your next move.
About commercial bridging
Short-term property finance across Dorset and the BCP conurbation.
Commercial bridging is short-term lending secured against commercial property. The asset can be retail, office, industrial, leisure, healthcare or mixed-use. The use case is typically a purchase pre-refinance, a refurbishment or change-of-use project, a capital raise against an unencumbered or low-LTV commercial asset, or a stop-gap while a long-term commercial term loan is arranged. For Dorset business owners and commercial investors operating around Bournemouth Town Square retail, Poole Quay leisure, the Weymouth seafront trade, the Dorchester high street and the Portland industrial belt, commercial bridging is the product that unblocks deals on a timeline a high-street commercial lender cannot match.
Commercial bridging suits commercial property investors, owner-managed businesses, limited company SPVs and small developers buying, refurbishing or raising capital against commercial premises. Typical Dorset borrowers include retail operators on Bournemouth Town Square and the Old Christchurch Road run, leisure and food-and-beverage operators along Poole Quay, Weymouth seafront and the Sandbanks peninsula, light-industrial occupiers on the Holton Heath, Ferndown and Hurn estates, Dorchester high street retail and office buyers, and the Portland and Wareham industrial operators who service the marine, quarrying and naval-heritage supply chains. The product also fits owner-occupiers raising capital against their own trading premises pre-refinance. It does not suit owner-occupier residential security; that work is regulated and sits under our regulated bridging route.
A typical case
How a commercial bridging case runs in Dorset.
A marine-services operator running a contract for Poole Harbour Commissioners and the Sunseeker supply chain wants to buy the freehold of the warehouse they currently lease, on the BH15 portside trade fringe near Poole Quay. Purchase price £1.2 million, against an open market value of £1.35 million on a recent independent valuation. The vendor needs to complete in 6 weeks for tax reasons. The operator's long-term commercial term loan application is sitting with their high-street relationship bank, but the bank's underwriting timeline runs to 12 weeks minimum. We package a commercial bridge against the warehouse at 65% loan to value, total £780,000. Rate 0.95% per month, term 12 months, serviced interest, exit to the bank's commercial investment loan once it completes in around 3 months. Indicative terms back in 48 hours, valuation in 10 working days, completion 21 working days after instruction. The operator completes inside the vendor's window, the high-street commercial facility completes 11 weeks later, and the bridge redeems on schedule. Similar mechanics work for retail acquisitions on Bournemouth Town Square and the Old Christchurch Road run, mixed-use blocks above the Dorchester high street, leisure premises along the Weymouth seafront, and the Portland industrial freeholds that anchor the Naval Heritage and quarry supply chain.
Rates and fees
What this product costs.
Commercial bridging prices between 0.75% and 1.4% per month. The wide range reflects the heterogeneity of commercial security: a vacant office block in a thin sub-market prices very differently from a let warehouse on a 10-year lease to an investment-grade tenant. Cases at 60% to 65% loan to value with a strong tenant or owner-occupier covenant and a clear refinance exit sit at the lower end. Cases with vacant possession, short-leased tenants, or speculative asset positioning sit higher. Arrangement fees run 1.5% to 2.5% of the loan. Valuation fees on commercial property are typically £2,000 to £8,000 depending on asset complexity. Legal fees both sides £3,000 to £8,000 per side, more for complex mixed-use or part-let cases. No exit fee on most products.
Loan size and term
LTV ceiling and how long you borrow for.
Commercial bridging typically tops out at 70% loan to value against open market value for clean commercial security, with most cases settling at 60% to 65%. Vacant commercial properties sit lower, often 55% to 60%. Investment-grade let commercial can reach 70%. Terms run 1 to 24 months, with most cases using 9 to 12 months.
Exit options
How the loan redeems.
Commercial bridging has three main exit routes. First, refinance to a long-term commercial term loan with a high-street challenger or specialist commercial lender. Second, sale of the property, particularly where the borrower's plan is acquire, reposition, sell. Third, refinance to a portfolio commercial investment facility for borrowers with multiple let commercial assets. Lenders want a clear primary exit at the offer stage, with realistic timing and a credible counterparty. A borrower whose only exit is a refinance with one named challenger bank on contingent terms looks weaker than a borrower with the term loan already in process plus a saleable backup.
What makes a deal work
The clean cases.
Commercial cases run cleanly when the asset is straightforward (let to a real tenant on a real lease, vacant possession with a real owner-occupier plan, or refurb-and-let with a clear leasing strategy), when the borrower has commercial property experience, and when the exit is clear. Cases also strengthen where the property is in a liquid Dorset commercial micro-market: along the Bournemouth Town Square retail spine, around Poole Quay, on the Dorchester and Sherborne high streets, on the Holton Heath and Ferndown industrial estates, or on the Portland and Wareham commercial belts.
What doesn't
Where cases break.
Cases break where the commercial asset is in a thin sub-market with poor comparables, where the tenant covenant is weak or short, where the borrower has no commercial track record, or where the exit relies on a single named lender with no backup. Vacant commercial buildings in declining locations are also difficult; lenders price them at low loan to value and steep rates, and many will not lend at all.
Our process
From first call to drawdown.
Step one, a triage call. Bring the property, the tenant or owner-occupier position, the use case, the exit, and the timeline. Step two, we package the case and put it to three or four commercial bridging lenders depending on the asset class. Indicative terms back inside 48 hours for a standard commercial case. Step three, valuation instructed by a surveyor with commercial expertise, legals running in parallel. Step four, full credit at the lender, typically 7 to 14 working days for commercial cases. Step five, drawdown. Standard timeline from triage to drawdown is 21 to 28 working days, longer than residential because of commercial valuation timelines. Commercial bridging on commercial property is not FCA-regulated. We are not directly authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Talk to us
Tell us about the deal.
A quick triage call, then indicative lender terms inside 24 hours. We work Dorset and across Dorset.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions on commercial bridging
Can commercial bridging fund a mixed-use property in Bournemouth?
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Yes. Mixed-use is one of the most common asset classes we bridge across the BCP conurbation, particularly retail-with-flats above on the Old Christchurch Road and Charminster runs, and around Bournemouth Town Square. The lender values the residential and commercial elements separately and the loan to value sits against the combined open market value. Expect a slightly more involved valuation than a pure commercial property and a slightly longer legal process.
How is a vacant commercial property treated for bridging?
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Vacant commercial property is harder to bridge than let commercial property because the lender has no rental income covenant to support the loan. Most lenders cap vacant commercial bridging at 55% to 60% loan to value and price it at the higher end of the commercial range. Where the borrower has a clear lease-up plan, a real owner-occupier intention, or a change-of-use to residential, the case looks better. Where the asset is vacant with no plan, lenders typically decline.
Can a Poole marine business raise capital against its warehouse?
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Yes. Capital raise against an unencumbered or low-LTV commercial property is a common bridging use case among marine-services, leisure and quarry operators around Poole Harbour, Portland and the wider Dorset coast. The bridge releases short-term capital, typically for working capital, equipment, or a separate property acquisition, with the exit usually a commercial term loan refinance against the same property a few months later. Loan to value sits at 60% to 65% for clean owner-occupier commercial security.
Next step
Talk to a Dorset bridging specialist about commercial bridging.
Indicative terms in 24 hours. We work commercial bridging cases across Dorset and the wider Dorset market on a same-day enquiry response.