Finance Rates from 1 - 18 months Rates up to 80% LTV net As at 17th January 2025 Finance Rates from Up to 24 months Rates up to 70% of GDV As at 17th January 2025 Finance Rates from 1 to 18 months Rates up to 80% LTV net As at 17th January 2025 Thank You for your interest - please complete the form below and a member of our team will be in contact.
Flipping Property?
Buying, Renovating & Selling (or Letting)
0.55% pm
Ground Up Development
New Builds
0.83% pm
Existing Development?
Refinance & Exit Finance
0.55% pm
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Written by: Sam O'Neill & Sam Hodgson
The finance options available to you are dependent on the scale of the work required:
Light redevelopment/refurbishment loan: for relatively unobtrusive, decorative and non-structural work to the property, which doesn’t require planning permission or have to comply with building regulations, including upgrading bathrooms and kitchens and replacing floor-coverings. If you can keep the time-scale of the renovations tight, bridging finance will work well for you.
Heavy refurbishment loan: for major structural changes, including building on an extension and altering internal supporting walls, where the total project will cost more than 15% of the value of the property. With a longer project time, and possible delays for planning approvals, you will need bridging finance running for longer than the standard maximum of 12 months. Most lenders can offer up to 18 months, and some will lend for up to 36 months.
Ground-up development: a major new-build project involving complete building plans that must be approved, and a team of architect, builders and tradespeople working together, requires more complex development finance with a more series of investment releases.
How much you can borrow & how much it will cost will come down to your project and the security and experience you can demonstrate. Headlines on what we can source through our network are:
Borrowing from £50,000 to £25M from 1 month up to five years
Rates from 4.5% pa
Get Development Finance Quotes »
A range of finance options have been developed by the market that can overcome these issues for you.
Short-term finance offers developers a quicker way to access development finance.
We work with lenders who can provide finance within as little as seven working days as a short-term solution to “bridge” the gap of any shortfall in funding.
Bespoke bridging loans can be tailored to specific purposes and lending terms, but they are commonly used for developments such as:
purchase at auction
buying commercial property
land purchase
conversion work
self-build projects
purchasing residential property
Usually with slightly lower interest rates, these are tailored for smaller development projects. There is no strict definition of a light refurbishment project, but usually it is one where:
Planning permission is not required
Building regulations do not apply
These are offered as finance for larger development projects, where the lender’s risk and administrative involvement is greater – consequently their interest rates are higher.
A Heavy Refurbishment bridging loan will be appropriate for projects where:
The light refurbishment criteria do not apply
Structural refurbishment is required
The development costs more than 15% of the value of the property or land
The best finance rates for development funding are commonly reserved for experienced property developers: to access the best deals lenders will require evidence of a proven track record of successful projects. There are lenders we work with who are happy to provide property finance to new of less experienced developers if your project satisfies their criteria.
The estimated open-market value of your finished property or development is a key metric in development finance (along with development experience and your personal financial situation).
Most development finance lenders are comfortable with granting development loans up to 70% of the GDV, if they are comfortable with the project plans and financial projections.
If you require funding to buy land and then the development costs, dependent on the project lenders will want you to put in 30% of the acquisition cost. The balance & 100% of the building costs can be funded on the basis that overall funding does not exceed 65% of the GDV. For the right projects additional mezzanine finance can be sourced up to 90% of GDV.
A number of lenders in the development finance market are prepared to provide the entire funding for the purchase of property/land plus development costs to borrowers who qualify for development finance.
If the cost of servicing a 100% loan is not an issue this can be an extremely useful scale of funding for your project, allowing you to invest in other projects at the same time.
At Clifton Private Finance, our strong relationships with private banks, specialist lenders, family offices and wealth managers, means that we can look at the widest range of funding available to find the best business finance solution for your development.
With offices in London, Bristol (Registered Office) and Cardiff we are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
I approached Clifton Private Finance to help me get a mortgage as an Expat working in the Far East. I would normally 'cut out the middle man' on something like this and try to get myself a deal directly with the banks, but I am now sold on the broker concept and wouldn't hesitate to use Clifton Private Finance again. There were a number of complicating factors such as being an expat, the stamp duty holiday, the sheer amount I wanted to borrow and the fact I wanted it all wrapped up before the Stamp Duty holiday ended. It is clear to me now that the relationship that brokers have managed to foster with their banks means they can simply pull levers and make stuff happen that us ordinary folk cannot. Put simply, they are worth every penny, will take most of the stress out of the lending process, and seem to have access to deals that you just won't find on the internet. Thank you George and Jan for all your hard work!
James M
Luther was excellent. Very clear in his advice and explanations of products and was able to move things on very quickly when we ran into difficulties with the estate agents. Without a doubt I would recommend Luther to all friends, family and colleagues. Luther was a joy to deal with and took a lot of the stress out of a troublesome transaction, from my end. I would view Luther as real asset to Clifton Private Finance Ltd.
William W
The team at Clifton Private Finance has been outstanding, not only in helping me to obtain a mortgage on a slightly unusual home, but also in continuing to provide support and liaise with the lender and solicitors through to completion. Thank you for making the process of buying my first home much easier.
Chantelle S
Sam O'Neill, and the new lender he identified for me, worked tirelessly together using my time constraints, to make sure my mortgage application was completed on time. They are a brilliant company to work with, fast, efficient, open and transparent from the very beginning, and turned a seemingly impossible situation into a viable one. Sam was brilliant throughout the whole process and I would highly recommend him, and his colleague Helen, to anyone without hesitation, I cannot speak highly enough about them.
Myr B
I was incredibly lucky to find Clifton Private Finance after a search on line as their service has been more than exemplary. My point of contact was Sam 0’Neill and he was happy to help at every stage during the application of the bridging loan, making a stressful process much easier to deal with. He was always available by phone or email and gave prompt answers to queries I had as well as always getting back to me when he said he would. That to me is excellent customer service and I cannot thank him personally or the company enough for the support they have given me.
C Jefferey
Adam cannot thank you enough for all your support throughout this arrangement. You have gone more than the extra mile to support us. Without you we would not have got our dream retirement home. You have been most professional and personable. Liz and I would be more than happy if you wanted to use us a reference with respect to any future clients.
Nigel & Liz K - Bristol
You have certainly shown me that you do everything for your clients, including tolerating their excessive emails and questions for updates. I have been kept in the loop, from yourself, about why the delays were occurring (Nationwide, post etc) which I would like to highlight that I really appreciated. I certainly will be able to recommend you to others as and when the need arises.
Mr Morris
I recently contacted Clifton Private Finance after a Google search for bridging finance providers and was immediately struck by their efficiency and support. Forms were emailed over almost immediately and the necessary finance was arranged within a few days. None of the other companies I contacted came close to their professionalism, and the quote that I eventually received was impressive. Thank you Adam, your help has enabled us to reserve the house that we wanted and I certainly recommend you to others.
Mr M. R. - Oxford
Absolutely brilliant. The service was first class, got everything sorted efficiently and were always friendly. Any fees were negligible compared to the service offered. Robert was particularly outstanding.
Charles N
My advisor, Robert, was very helpful in finding the mortgage to suit me. He kept me up to date throughout the process and dealt with any issues when they arose.
Rowena C
