Refurbishment finance · UK
Refurbishment loans for property that needs work.
Light and heavy refurbishment bridging loans for investors, landlords and developers across the UK. Both types of refurbishment finance let you borrow against the purchase and the works in one facility. Purchase and works funded in one facility, with indicative terms usually the same working day.
Schedule of works: typical criteria
Light or heavy? The first question every lender asks
Every refurbishment deal is priced on one distinction. If the works are cosmetic and non-structural, it is light refurbishment and almost every bridging loan lender will consider it. If the works involve structure, planning or a change of use, it is heavy refurbishment bridging finance territory: a smaller lender panel, staged drawdowns and underwriting against the end value rather than the current one.
Light refurbishment finance
Kitchens, bathrooms, rewiring, redecoration, windows, boiler and heating, cosmetic conversion of existing space. No planning, no structural movement.
Typical terms
Heavy refurbishment finance
Extensions, loft and basement conversions, structural repairs, commercial-to-residential conversion, works over roughly 50% of property value, anything needing planning.
Typical terms
Who we arrange refurbishment finance for
Buy-refurbish-sell investors
Flipping a tired property depends on speed of entry and certainty of works funding. We arrange light refurbishment bridging loans that complete in weeks, fund the purchase to 75% LTV and release works money in arrears as each stage is evidenced, so your cash goes into the deal, not into waiting. The exit is the sale, and we make sure the term gives you room to finish and market the property without extension fees.
Landlords refinancing onto rental (BRR)
The buy-refurbish-refinance model lives or dies on the end value and the refinance. We structure the bridging loan so the works uplift is provable at the exit valuation, and line up the term mortgage, often a refurbishment mortgage with a single lender covering both phases, before the bridge completes. That removes the two-lender gap risk that catches out first-time BRR investors.
Auction buyers
Auction lots are disproportionately unmodernised or unmortgageable, which is exactly why the margin is there. Auction property finance gives you terms in principle before you bid and completes inside the 28-day deadline, with the works funding built into the same facility.
Developers converting and extending
Commercial-to-residential conversions, HMO conversions, airspace and permitted development projects sit at the heavy end. Lenders here underwrite the professional team, the schedule of works and the LTGDV. We package all three properly the first time, which is usually the difference between an approved facility and a declined application.
How a refurbishment loan application completes
- Scope the worksSend us the property, your schedule of works with costs, and the intended exit. A one-page builder's estimate is enough to start.
- Indicative termsWe come back with indicative terms from the panel, usually the same working day: rate, day-one advance, works facility and fees in one schedule.
- Valuation and underwritingThe lender instructs a valuation on current value, and on GDV for heavy projects. We manage the questions so the file keeps moving.
- Completion and drawdownsPurchase funds complete the deal. Works money is released in arrears or in stages as the project is evidenced, typically within days of each inspection.
- ExitSell, or refinance onto a term mortgage at the new value. We plan the exit at day one so the bridge never outlives its purpose.
Refurbishment loan rates and costs
| Product | Rate | Max leverage | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light refurbishment bridge | 0.75 - 0.99% pm | 75% LTV | 3 - 18 mo |
| Heavy refurbishment bridge | 0.85 - 1.15% pm | 75% LTGDV | 6 - 24 mo |
| Refurbishment mortgage (refurb-to-let) | 6.0 - 7.5% pa | 75% LTV | 2 - 30 yr |
Arrangement fees typically run 1.5 - 2% of the facility. Interest is usually retained or rolled, so there are no monthly payments during the works. Our full breakdown of every cost line is in the refurbishment loan costs guide, and you can model your own project on the refurbishment loan calculator.
Refurbishment loan questions, answered
A refurbishment loan is short-term secured finance that funds both the purchase (or refinance) of a property and the cost of improvement works. Most are structured as bridging loans of 3 to 24 months, with the works element released in arrears or in staged drawdowns, and repaid when you sell or refinance the finished property.
Light refurbishment covers cosmetic and non-structural work: new kitchens and bathrooms, rewiring, redecoration, replacement windows. Heavy refurbishment involves structural work, planning permission or a change of use: extensions, loft conversions, commercial-to-residential conversion, or works costing more than roughly 50% of the property value. Lenders price and underwrite the two very differently.
On light refurbishment, lenders typically advance up to 75% of the purchase price day one plus up to 100% of the works cost in arrears. On heavy refurbishment, facilities are sized against the gross development value: typically up to 70-75% LTGDV, drawn in stages as works complete. Facilities on our panel run from £75k to £5m.
Not for light refurbishment: first-time investors are financeable, though rates improve with a track record. For heavy refurbishment most lenders want evidence you have delivered a comparable project, or a contractor and professional team who have. We present your experience, or your team's, in the strongest honest light.
Light refurbishment bridges regularly complete in 2 to 4 weeks where legals are clean. Heavy refurbishment takes longer, typically 4 to 8 weeks, because the lender will instruct a valuation on both current value and GDV, and often a QS review of your schedule of works.
No. A home improvement loan is an unsecured personal loan for improving the home you live in, offered by high-street banks. A refurbishment loan is secured property finance for investment projects: it funds the purchase and the works, is sized against the property (not your salary), and is repaid by sale or refinance. If you are improving your own home, a personal loan or a further advance from your mortgage lender is the right product, and we do not arrange those.
Send us the property, your schedule of works with costs, and the intended exit through the enquiry form. The application process from there: indicative terms usually the same working day, a decision in principle within a few days, then valuation and legals. Light refurbishment applications complete in 2 to 4 weeks; heavy ones in 4 to 8.
Loans secured on investment property you will never live in are unregulated. If you or an immediate family member live in or intend to live in the property, the loan is regulated bridging, which we do not arrange. Where a deal would require FCA authorisation we refer the enquiry to a regulated firm.
Talk to us about your project
Tell us the property, the schedule of works and the exit. We will come back with indicative terms, usually the same working day.