Commercial Bridging Loan Portsmouth
Acquire a vacant or value-add commercial property on a 12 to 24 month bridge, refurbish or convert and let, then term out onto a long-term commercial investment mortgage. £500K to £5M typical. Bridge interest rate 0.75 to 1.10% pm; term-out 6.5 to 8.5% pa once stabilised. Active across the Class E to HMO conversion pipeline (the highest-volume sub-sector in this network), Tipner Regeneration plays, and the Commercial Road heritage conversion stream.
Bridge term
12 to 24 months
Bridge rate
0.75 to 1.10% pm
LTV (bridge)
Up to 70%
Term-out
6.5 to 8.5% pa
What is bridge-to-let and when does it make sense?
Commercial bridge-to-let is a two-stage facility. The first stage, the bridge, funds acquisition of a commercial property that is not immediately fundable on a long-term mortgage: vacant, partly tenanted, mid-refurbishment, mid-conversion, or with an unsigned lease at point of purchase. The second stage, the term-out, refinances the bridge onto a standard commercial investment mortgage once the asset is income-producing and the ICR test passes.
Bridges typically run 12 to 24 months, with interest serviced monthly or rolled-up into the loan balance (useful where the asset is not income-producing during the bridge period). Bridge LTV up to 70% of current value, sometimes higher with refurb-funded value where lenders consider GDV (gross development value). Bridge interest rate currently 0.75 to 1.10% pm, equivalent to 8.5 to 11.0% pa: meaningfully more expensive than long-term debt, but the right answer for a 12-month value-add play where no term lender will engage on the day-one position.
The agreed exit onto term debt is the underwriting comfort. Specialist lenders like LendInvest and Shawbrook either provide both legs (bridge then term with the same lender, on a pre-agreed product transfer) or partner with a sister term lender. InterBay Commercial takes selected larger Portsmouth cases on the bridging side. We model the all-in cost across the bridge period plus term-out so you see the true total cost of the strategy before drawdown.
Most commercial bridge-to-let is taken out by a limited company SPV with director personal guarantee, and is unregulated commercial lending. The exception: where the bridge is secured against a property with a residential element that the borrower will personally occupy, the deal can fall under FCA-regulated bridging rules and routes to a regulated bridging lender. Stamp duty land tax applies on the day-one purchase at standard commercial rates; it is paid by the buyer at completion of the bridge, not at term-out (because term-out is a refinance, not a fresh purchase). That timing matters for cash-flow planning on the deal. Indicative case seed: a Commercial Road heritage retail freehold bought as a sui generis 7-bed HMO conversion at £980K on an 18-month bridge at 0.95% pm, refurbished and converted under permitted development plus prior approval, termed out at 65% LTV at around 7.5% pa once let to student tenants.
From auction or off-market acquisition to stabilised investment
1. Strategy review
We review the asset, the refurb or conversion plan, the target term-out exit. All-in cost modelled: bridge interest, bridge fees, term-out arrangement, valuation set.
2. Bridge terms in 48 hours
Bridge LTV, interest rate, term, fees from three specialist desks. Plus indicative term-out terms post-stabilisation.
3. Bridge completion
Bridge can complete in 2 to 3 weeks for clean cases. Asset acquired. SDLT paid at completion.
4. Conversion or refurb phase
Borrower executes the plan over 6 to 18 months. Property stabilises into income-producing asset with leases or AST tenancies in place.
5. Term-out refinancing
Once let with valid commercial leases or ASTs, refinance onto term mortgage at standard 6.5 to 8.5% pa pricing. ICR test passes.
6. Bridge redeemed
Bridge redeemed from term-out drawdown. Exit complete. Borrower now on long-term repayment schedule.
Deal types where short-term commercial debt is the right tool
- Class E to HMO conversion plays across Southsea (Manners Road, the Portsea fringe), North End and the Commercial Road heritage stretch, the highest-volume Portsmouth bridging sub-sector
- Sui generis 7+ bed HMO conversion deals where Portsmouth City Council prior approval and full FUL applications need bridge funding through the determination cycle
- Tipner Regeneration plays where consented mixed-use schemes need bridge funding before stabilised letting
- Commercial Road heritage retail freeholds being converted under permitted development to mixed-use or sui generis
- Investors buying vacant Lakeside North Harbour office floorplates for sub-division refurbishment and re-letting
- Trading-business operator buyouts where the new operator needs 12 months of accounts before high-street refinancing
- Auction-bought commercial assets (typical 28-day completion timeframe rules out term mortgage processing)
- Change-of-use conversion deals through Portsmouth City Council planning (C3 / C4 to sui generis HMO, Class E retail to C3, B-class to Class E mixed use)
Active Portsmouth bridge-to-term value-add territory
LendInvest and Shawbrook are the most active commercial bridging desks for Portsmouth £500K to £5M deals; InterBay Commercial takes selected cases on the larger end. Together and Foundation Home Loans engage on the HMO-conversion bridging side. The standout value-add territory in 2026 is the Class E to HMO conversion pipeline: Portsmouth runs the highest sui generis (7+ bed) HMO change-of-use volume in our network, driven by the c. 28,000-student University of Portsmouth and the densest-outside-London population structure. Recent live planning cases (26/00496/FUL at 38 Manners Road Southsea converting C4 to 8-bed sui generis HMO, 26/00486/FUL at 135 Kirby Road North End converting C3 to 7-bed sui generis HMO, 26/00251/FUL converting Class E ground plus C4 upper to 7-bed sui generis with mansard on the Portsea fringe) are typical bridging cases, with the 95-of-96 pending applications in the last 12 months reflecting the council's long determination cycle rather than refusal (the actual approval rate once decisions land sits at 92 to 96% historically). The Tipner Regeneration zone produces consented mixed-use plays as the regen schemes mature, and the Commercial Road heritage conversion stream (live cases including 26/00475/FUL and 26/00469/FUL at 116-118 Commercial Road on Class E retail and listed-building works) generates a steady flow of bridge-and-convert enquiries. Auction-bought assets are another standing source: the 28-day completion clock simply cannot be met by term-mortgage process.
Commercial Bridge-to-Let FAQs
Other Development Finance Services
Exploring Commercial Bridge-to-Let for your Portsmouth scheme?
Free-of-charge scheme assessment. Indicative terms within 48 hours.