Unregulated bridging finance
Unregulated Bridging Loans Wiltshire
Investment, BTL and commercial bridges across Wiltshire and the wider South West investor market. Decisions in hours, drawdown in days, terms 1 to 24 months.
- Decisions in hours
- Completion in days
- £100k to £25m
- Wiltshire specialists
Wiltshire · Wiltshire
Bridge to your next move.
About unregulated bridging
Short-term property finance across Wiltshire.
Unregulated bridging is the network's core book. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate bridging where the security is investment property, commercial premises, buy-to-let or a refurbishment project, because the borrower is treated as a sophisticated party rather than a consumer. That regime gives the lender and broker room to move at speed. For landlords and property investors operating across Wiltshire and the wider South West, unregulated bridging is the product that pays for the next deal before the last one has stabilised. We cover the full county, from the SP postcodes in and around Salisbury through to the BA stock in Trowbridge and Bradford-on-Avon and the SN postcodes covering Swindon, Chippenham, Royal Wootton Bassett and Malmesbury.
Unregulated bridging fits property investors, small developers, established landlords, and limited companies holding property for income or capital appreciation. Typical borrowers across Wiltshire run portfolios of 3 to 30 BTL units across Salisbury, Trowbridge, Chippenham and Swindon, or buy at auction with a refurbishment plan and a refinance route. It also suits owner-managed businesses raising short-term capital against trading premises around Solstice Park Amesbury, the Dyson supplier shed cluster near Malmesbury, the Hopton Industrial Estate at Devizes or the Westmead and Cheney Manor estates in Swindon. The product is wrong for owner-occupier residential bridging, which sits under the FCA-regulated regime and goes via our regulated route instead.
A typical case
How a unregulated bridging case runs in Wiltshire.
A limited company landlord with 12 BTL units across Trowbridge, Westbury and Melksham spots an HMO opportunity in central Chippenham: an end-of-terrace freehold near the station, vendor motivated, asking £325,000 against a likely £400,000 fully refurbished and let. The deal needs to complete in five weeks or the vendor walks. The landlord has equity in the existing portfolio but no liquid cash for the deposit and works. We package an unregulated bridge against the Chippenham property at 70% of purchase price, with a separate facility releasing additional funds against an unencumbered terrace in Trowbridge. Total facility £320,000 across two charges, term 12 months, serviced interest, exit to a portfolio HMO refinance with one of the specialist BTL lenders. Indicative terms back in 24 hours, valuation in 8 working days, completion 14 working days after instruction. The borrower completes inside the vendor's window, runs the HMO conversion over four months, lets the rooms, and refinances out at month nine. The bridge redeems on schedule. The same pattern repeats across the wider county, particularly around the Swindon commuter rentals and the Salisbury professional-let market. Lenders we use here include **MT Finance**, **Octane Capital** and **Roma Finance** for the standard investment cases.
Rates and fees
What this product costs.
Unregulated bridging across Wiltshire prices between 0.65% and 1.25% per month in the current market. Standard investment cases on freehold residential security at 65% loan to value, with a clear refinance exit and a borrower track record, sit at the lower end of that band. Higher loan to value, shorter track record, less liquid security or weaker exit pushes the rate up. Heavy refurbishment and conversion work generally prices above 1.0% per month. The arrangement fee runs 1.5% to 2.0% of the loan, added to the facility. Valuation fees vary by property type. A standard terrace in SP1 or SN1 might cost £600, a commercial mixed-use block in central Salisbury or Marlborough closer to £2,500. Legal fees both sides are borrower-paid, typically £1,500 to £4,000 per side. Most unregulated products carry no exit fee. We never quote a case as fee-free.
Loan size and term
LTV ceiling and how long you borrow for.
Maximum loan to value on standard unregulated investment bridging is 75% against open market value, with most cases settling at 65% to 70%. Day-one loan to purchase can be higher where the property is materially below market value, often up to 85% of the purchase price if the open market valuation supports it. Terms run from 1 to 24 months. Most clients across the county use a 9 to 12-month facility for refurbishment and refinance, or a 3 to 6-month facility for straightforward purchase and resale.
Exit options
How the loan redeems.
Unregulated bridging has four main exit routes. First, refinance to a long-term BTL mortgage once the property is let and seasoned. Second, refinance to a commercial investment mortgage for mixed-use or pure commercial security. Third, sale on the open market, particularly where the borrower has refurbished and intends to flip. Fourth, sale of an associated asset such as another property in the portfolio. Lenders want a credible primary exit and a credible backup. A borrower whose only exit is a refinance with one named lender on contingent income looks weaker than a borrower with a refinance lined up plus a saleable backup property in Salisbury, Marlborough or Bradford-on-Avon.
What makes a deal work
The clean cases.
Clean cases run on three things: realistic valuation, credible exit, and a borrower with a coherent track record. A landlord with eight stabilised BTLs across SN15 and BA14, a 70% LTV against a terrace in Trowbridge or Melksham, and a portfolio refinance offer already on the table is the textbook clean case. Cases also strengthen where the security sits in a liquid Wiltshire postcode with strong rental demand, where the construction is conventional, and where the borrower has skin in the game. Limited company SPV structures with clear shareholding work well; partnerships work less well unless the partners are joint borrowers. **Together** and **LendInvest** are both comfortable on these structures.
What doesn't
Where cases break.
Cases fail where the borrower has no track record and no clear exit, where the property is in a thin or atypical micro-market (some of the smaller villages around the Cranborne Chase or Vale of Wardour fringe carry very thin comparables), where construction is non-standard, or where the refurbishment scope is materially understated. Auction valuations that overshoot independent comparables also kill cases at the survey stage. We will not progress a case where the maths require everything to go right; we want headroom on the exit.
Our process
From first call to drawdown.
Step one, a 20-minute call. Bring the property, the deal, the equity, the exit and the timeline. Step two, we package the case and put it to three or four lenders depending on the brief. Indicative terms back inside 24 hours. Step three, valuation instructed alongside legals. Step four, full credit at the lender, typically 3 to 5 working days. Step five, drawdown into the borrower's solicitor, with funds released on completion of the purchase or refinance. Standard timeline from triage to drawdown is 10 to 21 working days. Auction-driven cases compress that to 5 to 10 working days using title insurance and a streamlined valuation. Unregulated bridging on commercial and investment property is not FCA-regulated. We are not directly authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority; we work with FCA-authorised partners for regulated lending.
Talk to us
Tell us about the deal.
A quick triage call, then indicative lender terms inside 24 hours. We work Wiltshire and across Wiltshire.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions on unregulated bridging
What is the difference between regulated and unregulated bridging?
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Regulated bridging is FCA-supervised consumer lending against a home you or an immediate family member occupy. Unregulated bridging is non-consumer lending against investment, commercial or BTL property. The regulated regime is slower because of FCA process requirements; the unregulated regime is faster and more flexible because the borrower is treated as a sophisticated party. Most of our Wiltshire investor clients sit in the unregulated regime.
Can I bridge a limited company purchase in Wiltshire?
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Yes. Limited company SPV structures are standard on unregulated bridging across the county. The lender takes a first charge against the property and a debenture against the company. Personal guarantees from the directors are standard, and we negotiate the cap on guarantees case by case. Most of our investor clients across Salisbury, Swindon, Chippenham and the wider South West hold property through limited companies for tax efficiency, and lenders are well used to that structure.
Can unregulated bridging fund refurbishment works as well as the purchase?
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Yes. Most unregulated bridges include a works facility that draws down in stages against work completed and signed off by the lender's monitoring surveyor. For light refurb in Trowbridge or Chippenham, the works facility is often released in two or three tranches. For heavy refurb and conversion work in the Salisbury conservation area or the listed stock around Bradford-on-Avon, expect a more structured drawdown over four or five stages.
Next step
Talk to a Wiltshire bridging specialist about unregulated bridging.
Indicative terms in 24 hours. We work unregulated bridging cases across Wiltshire and the wider Wiltshire market on a same-day enquiry response.