Unregulated bridging finance
Unregulated Bridging Loans Swindon
Investment, BTL and commercial bridges across Swindon and the wider Wiltshire investor market. Decisions in hours, drawdown in days.
- Decisions in hours
- Completion in days
- £100k to £25m
- Wiltshire specialists
Swindon · Wiltshire
Bridge to your next move.
About unregulated bridging
Short-term property finance across Swindon and 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 in Swindon and across Wiltshire, unregulated bridging is the product that pays for the next deal before the last one has stabilised. We use **MT Finance** and **Octane Capital** routinely on this book, with **Roma Finance** running a parallel line on the heavier refurbishment cases that include layout change and HMO conversion.
Unregulated bridging fits property investors, small developers, established landlords, and limited companies holding property for income or capital appreciation. Typical borrowers in this market run portfolios of 3 to 30 BTL units across Gorse Hill, Rodbourne, Pinehurst, Penhill and the surrounding postcodes, or buy at auction with a refurbishment plan and a refinance route. It also suits owner-managed businesses raising short-term capital against premises in the Cheney Manor, Westmead or Greenbridge industrial estates, where the M4 J15 and J16 distribution corridor drives steady occupier demand. 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 Swindon.
A limited company landlord with 12 BTL units across Gorse Hill, Rodbourne and Pinehurst spots an opportunity in Park South: an end-of-terrace freehold, vendor motivated, asking £215,000 against a likely £280,000 fully refurbished. The deal needs to complete in 6 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 Park South property at 70% of purchase price, with a separate facility releasing additional funds against an unencumbered terrace in Stratton St Margaret. Total facility £215,000 across two charges. Term 12 months, serviced interest, exit to a portfolio BTL refinance with one of the specialist BTL lenders. Indicative terms come 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 refurbishment over 4 months, lets the property, and refinances out at month 9. The bridge redeems on schedule. This pattern repeats weekly across Swindon SN1, SN2, SN3 and SN5 and out into the larger Wiltshire towns at Chippenham and Trowbridge.
Rates and fees
What this product costs.
Unregulated bridging in the current Wiltshire market prices between 0.65% and 1.25% per month. 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 SN1 might cost £600, a commercial mixed-use block in the town centre 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; there is always a cost line on a bridge.
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 month to 24 months. Most clients use a 9 to 12-month facility for refurbishment and refinance, or a 3 to 6-month facility for straightforward purchase and resale. The median Swindon transaction sits around £272,500 in the most recent 18 months of sold-data, so most single-asset unregulated bridges in the town fall in the £150,000 to £350,000 bracket on the gross facility.
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 West Swindon, Walcot or one of the larger village stocks at Highworth and Wroughton.
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 8 stabilised BTLs across SN2 and SN3, a 70% LTV against a Park North terrace, and a portfolio refinance offer already on the table is the textbook clean case. Cases also strengthen where the security sits in a liquid Swindon 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. The Swindon BTL market is anchored by the Nationwide and Zurich workforce in Pipers Way and Whitehill Way, plus the wider M4 corridor commuter base, which gives BTL refinance lenders comfort on rental cover.
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, 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. The other common failure point is borrowers who undercost works on Victorian terraces in Rodbourne and Gorse Hill, where damp, wiring and roof issues recur and need real contingency in the budget rather than wishful thinking on the schedule of works.
Our process
From first call to drawdown.
Step one, a 20-minute call with us. 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 come 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 Swindon 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 Swindon investor clients sit in the unregulated regime and run their portfolio across the SN1 to SN26 postcodes plus the larger Wiltshire towns.
Can I bridge a limited company purchase in Swindon?
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Yes. Limited company SPV structures are standard on unregulated bridging across Wiltshire. 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 hold property through limited companies for tax efficiency, and lenders are well used to that structure. The legal cost adds a modest amount over a personal-name purchase, but the tax position usually makes the SPV worthwhile on portfolio cases.
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 Gorse Hill or Park South, the works facility is often released in two or three tranches. For heavy refurb and conversion in Old Town conservation areas or HMO conversions around the town centre, expect a more structured drawdown over four or five stages. The works tranche is sized at 100% of the costed schedule with a sensible contingency built in.
Next step
Talk to a Swindon bridging specialist about unregulated bridging.
Indicative terms in 24 hours. We work unregulated bridging cases across Swindon and the wider Wiltshire market on a same-day enquiry response.