Commercial bridging finance
Commercial Bridging Loans Hull
Short-term lending against retail, office, industrial, leisure and mixed-use property. Old Town offices, Marfleet industrial trade units near the Port of Hull, and town-centre retail across the East Riding of Yorkshire.
- Decisions in hours
- Completion in days
- £100k to £25m
- East Riding of Yorkshire specialists
Hull · East Riding of Yorkshire
Bridge to your next move.
About commercial bridging
Short-term property finance across Portsea Island and Hampshire.
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 Hull business owners and commercial investors operating around the Port of Hull, the Marfleet industrial estates, and the Old Town office market, 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 Hull borrowers include logistics operators acquiring trade units along the A63 corridor and into Marfleet, owner-occupier businesses buying their freehold office stock in the Old Town conservation area, retail operators along King Edward Street and Whitefriargate, and small developers buying tired commercial stock with a residential conversion plan in the Fruit Market regeneration zone. 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 residential bridging route.
A typical case
How a commercial bridging case runs in Hull.
A logistics operator running a fulfilment contract that feeds into the Port of Hull supply chain wants to buy the freehold of the trade unit they currently lease, on a Marfleet industrial estate close to the King George Dock access road. Purchase price £680,000 against an open market value of £760,000 on a recent independent valuation. The vendor needs to complete in six weeks for tax reasons. The operator's long-term commercial term loan application is sitting with their relationship bank, but the bank's underwriting timeline runs to 12 weeks minimum. We package a commercial bridge against the trade unit at 65% loan to value, total £442,000. Rate 0.95% per month, term 12 months, serviced interest, exit to the bank's commercial investment loan once it completes in around three 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 commercial facility lands 11 weeks later, and the bridge redeems on schedule. Similar mechanics work for retail acquisitions along King Edward Street and Whitefriargate, mixed-use blocks above the high street in the Old Town and the Newland Avenues, and the port-side warehousing that anchors the Port of Hull supply chain through the ABP estate.
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 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 sits in a liquid Hull commercial micro-market: along the A63 logistics corridor, around the Marfleet and Hedon Road industrial estates near the Port of Hull, along the King Edward Street and Whitefriargate retail spine, or in the established Old Town office cluster.
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. **United Trust Bank** and **Octopus Real Estate** both have strong commercial appetite for Hull and the wider Humber region; Allica Bank, OakNorth and Cambridge & Counties are also relevant on the term refinance side.
Talk to us
Tell us about the deal.
A quick triage call, then indicative lender terms inside 24 hours. We work Hull and across East Riding of Yorkshire.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions on commercial bridging
Can commercial bridging fund a mixed-use property in Hull?
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Yes. Mixed-use is one of the most common asset classes we bridge across Hull, particularly retail-with-flats above on King Edward Street, Whitefriargate and Newland Avenue, plus the Old Town conservation streets where ground-floor retail or office sits below residential. 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 Hull port-logistics 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 port-logistics, freight and trade operators around the Port of Hull, the ABP dock estate, and the Marfleet industrial corridor. 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 Hull bridging specialist about commercial bridging.
Indicative terms in 24 hours. We work commercial bridging cases across Hull and the wider East Riding of Yorkshire market on a same-day enquiry response.