Commercial Bridging Loan Bournemouth
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 Citrus Building and Winter Gardens central regeneration plays in BH2, Boscombe Spa Village conversions in BH5, and Lansdowne Class E to residential prior approval (PD) reshuffles in BH1.
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 Bournemouth 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 Lansdowne BH1 Class E office freehold bought as a Class E to residential prior approval conversion at £880K on an 18-month bridge at 0.95% pm, refurbished and converted under PD, termed out at 65% LTV at around 7.5% pa once the residual ground-floor leisure unit and the upper-floor residential are stabilised.
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
- Citrus Building and Winter Gardens central regeneration plays in BH2 where mixed-use leisure / hotel reconfigurations sit through BCP Council planning determination
- Boscombe Spa Village conversion buyers in BH5 picking up hotel refit and restaurant Class E stock along Sea Road and the wider regenerating seafront
- Lansdowne Class E to residential prior approval (PD) plays in BH1 where the BCP catchment's strong office-to-C3 reshuffle pipeline supports residual ground-floor commercial
- Holiday-let acquisition deals where the operating model needs to be evidenced before Cumberland Building Society or Hodge can engage on term debt
- Investors buying vacant central office floorplates around Old Christchurch Road and the Lansdowne quarter 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)
- Christchurch High Street and Aviation Park (BH23) value-add deals routing through bridge-and-let
Active Bournemouth bridge-to-term value-add territory
LendInvest and Shawbrook are the most active commercial bridging desks for Bournemouth £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; Cumberland Building Society and Hodge sometimes engage on the term-out leg of holiday-let bridges. The standout value-add territory in 2026 is the Citrus Building and wider Avenue Road / Winter Gardens central regeneration pipeline in BH2, the Boscombe Spa Village conversion stream in BH5, and the Lansdowne Class E to residential prior approval belt in BH1: Bournemouth runs strong central tall-building scheme volume (Citrus Building, Pavilion area, Winter Gardens) plus a sustained Class E to C3 prior approval pipeline through BCP Council's planning portal as financial-services back-office occupiers consolidate. The Boscombe Spa Village conversion stream produces consented hotel refit and Class E retail-and-restaurant plays as the BH5 regeneration plan matures, and the Lansdowne Class E to residential PD belt generates a steady flow of bridge-and-convert enquiries on stock vacated as part of the wider office consolidation across the JPMorgan Chase Littledown employment shed. The Christchurch High Street fringe and the Aviation Park edge in BH23 pick up smaller redevelopment plots. Auction-bought assets are another standing source: the 28-day completion clock simply cannot be met by term-mortgage process. BCP holiday-let acquisition bridges, where the operating model needs to be evidenced for 12 months before term lenders like Cumberland Building Society or Hodge can engage, are a distinctive south-coast bridging stream that we route regularly.
Commercial Bridge-to-Let FAQs
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Exploring Commercial Bridge-to-Let for your Bournemouth scheme?
Free-of-charge scheme assessment. Indicative terms within 48 hours.