Rebridging loans & refinance bridging loans

What is a rebridging loan?

Rebridging, re-bridging, a refinance bridging loan and refinancing a bridging loan all describe the same transaction. Whichever term is used, the mechanics are identical: a new loan clears the old one, and the borrower gets a fresh term to complete whatever the first loan was waiting for.

Say a developer has a £300,000 bridging loan approaching maturity but still needs around six months to finish refurbishment works and refinance onto a buy-to-let mortgage. A new lender may agree to rebridge the existing facility, provided there's enough equity in the property and a credible plan for how the works will finish and the mortgage will complete. That new loan repays the first lender on day one, and the six-month clock restarts under the new facility.

Rebridging is used reactively — when a bridge is close to its end date and the exit isn't ready — and proactively, when a borrower simply wants a better rate, more time, or to release equity that has built up as the property's value or completed works have moved on from the original loan. Both are covered on this page.

Two related products have their own pages. If the facility being refinanced is a development loan on a completed or near-complete scheme, see development exit bridging loans, which price differently because the security is finished stock. If the exit from the new loan is a buy-to-let mortgage, see bridge to let.

Why refinance or rebridge an existing bridging loan?

There are two broad groups of borrower on this page, and the page is written for both. One group is proactive: the deal is performing fine, but a better rate or some released equity would help. The other is reactive: the clock is running out on the current facility and something hasn't gone to plan. Five scenarios cover most cases.

Rebridging calculator

Enter the property value, your existing redemption figure and the loan-to-value you're expecting. The calculator applies our standard residential ladder and fee structure, and shows the gross loan, the costs that come off it, and — most importantly — the net amount actually available to repay your existing lender, with any surplus or shortfall made explicit.

Commercial, land or development-exit case? Open the full bridging loan calculator

Rebridging rates and criteria

Rebridging rates start from 0.74% a month for a straightforward residential refinance at up to 75% loan-to-value. Where the case is more complex — commercial or semi-commercial security, land, a development exit, unfinished refurbishment works, or a loan already in default — pricing is assessed individually rather than quoted as a fixed number, because the rate depends on specifics (how much equity is left, how strong the new exit is, what valuation route is available) that vary far more than they do for a standard residential case.

Indicative starting positions, October 2026. Final pricing on every case depends on the lender's underwriting, the valuation and the strength of the exit — treat the 0.74% figure as a floor for the most straightforward cases, not a universal quote.

What actually moves your rate

• Loan-to-value. A lower LTV against today's value is the single biggest lever on rate — it's also the reason refinancing after works have added value can be cheaper than the original facility.
• Strength of the exit. An agreed sale, an exchanged contract or a current mortgage agreement in principle prices better than "we're still deciding."
• Valuation route. A re-typed existing valuation, an automated valuation model (AVM) or a desktop valuation is usually faster and can be cheaper than a full physical inspection, where the lender and LTV allow it.
• Credit profile. Missed payments, CCJs or a default already registered on the loan being refinanced don't rule a case out, but they move it into specialist, individually-assessed pricing rather than the standard ladder.
• Whether the loan is in default. A rebridge agreed before maturity prices differently to one arranged after default interest has started accruing.

Fees to budget for

Rebridge, extend, or refinance onto a mortgage?

These are three different routes to the same problem — more time, or different terms — and they aren't interchangeable. Working out which applies before you enquire saves time.

A rebridge is not automatically the cheapest option. If your current lender will extend at or close to your existing rate, that usually beats paying a new arrangement fee and new legal costs for a short delay. Rebridging earns its cost when an extension is refused, offered only at a default rate, capped at a much shorter term than you need, or when you specifically want to raise more money or change lender. And if the property is genuinely ready — licensed, certified, let, and meeting a mortgage lender's rental-cover and ownership-period rules — refinancing straight onto a term mortgage is usually cheaper than either bridging option. We can compare the realistic cost of all three before you commit to one.

How rebridging works

1. Redemption statement. Your current lender (or receivers, if appointed) confirms the exact figure needed to repay the loan on a given date — principal, any rolled or accrued interest, exit fees, and default interest if applicable.
2. Valuation. The new lender values the property. Where an existing report is under roughly six months old, several lenders will re-type it at no cost; otherwise an AVM, a desktop valuation, or a full RICS inspection, depending on the LTV and the time available.
3. Underwriting the new exit. The new lender sizes the loan against current value — not the original purchase price or planned end value — and wants a clear, evidenced explanation of how and when this loan will be repaid.
4. Completion and redemption. On completion, the new lender's solicitor sends the redemption figure to the outgoing lender, the old charge is released, the new charge is registered at the Land Registry, and any surplus after costs is released to you.
5. Exit. You sell, refinance onto a term mortgage, or otherwise repay within the new term.

Start the conversation 6 to 8 weeks before your maturity date if you can — that window keeps a full RICS valuation, an AVM and a re-type all realistically available, and gives time to negotiate on rate. Inside two to four weeks, the full-valuation route often becomes impractical and the case shifts toward re-types, AVMs or desktop valuations with a narrower group of lenders. Even past maturity, including where a loan is already in default, rebridging is often still possible — the earlier you start, the lower the redemption figure you need to clear, and the more routes remain open.

Complex rebridging cases

Gross LTV versus net advance

This is the distinction that trips borrowers up most often. A lender quoting 75% LTV is describing the gross loan against the property's value — not the amount that lands in your account, or the amount available to clear your current lender. Arrangement fees, legal costs, admin fees, the valuation (if charged), and any interest taken upfront all come out of that gross figure first. Our calculator above shows both numbers side by side, specifically so this distinction is visible before you enquire.

Refinancing an unfinished property

Where refurbishment or development works are incomplete, the property's current value may sit well below its expected value once finished. A new lender will assess the present condition, the realistic cost and timescale of the remaining works, the planning and building-regulations position, and a conservative view of the finished value — not the borrower's own estimate of what the property will eventually be worth. A refinance sized only on an optimistic completed value is unlikely to be accepted; be ready to show a specific schedule of what's left to do, its cost, and who's doing it.

Refinancing a loan already in default

A redemption figure on a defaulted loan needs to include default interest, any extension or default fees, legal costs, and enforcement charges if receivers have been appointed — and that figure can move materially as the case progresses, so request an up-to-date statement close to the point you expect to complete. A new lender will also want evidence that the underlying problem has actually been resolved, not simply deferred: if the sale fell through because of a buyer issue, what's different about the next buyer; if works stalled, what's changed to get them moving again.

The exit strategy is the real underwriting question

Of everything on this page, this is the section worth reading most carefully. A new lender's central question isn't "how much more time do you need" — it's "why will this exit succeed when the last one didn't." Saying you need another six months is far less persuasive than explaining, specifically, what changed: a price reduction that brings the property in line with recent comparable sales, a building-regulations sign-off that's now been obtained, a new mortgage offer already in hand, or a buyer who has exchanged. The more concrete that explanation, the stronger the case — regardless of the headline rate.

Who can get a rebridging loan?

Lenders underwrite the property, the strength of the new exit, and the reason the original exit slipped. Income is a secondary consideration, and a loan already in default is not an automatic bar.

Worked examples

These are illustrative scenarios built on the ladder and fee structure above, not quotes for a specific case. Figures are rounded.

In the first example, retaining interest means less lands upfront but nothing is owed monthly, which suits a sale that's close to completing. In the second, rolling the interest up leaves more cash on day one at the cost of a larger balance to settle at the end — better suited to a case where the borrower expects to hold the loan for the full term. We'll talk through which structure fits your situation before anything is submitted.

Rebridging case studies

Two anonymised cases from our files, included to show what real rebridging cases look like rather than idealised scenarios. Rates shown are those agreed at the time, on cases with genuine complications.

Full written accounts, including the lenders and advisers involved, are available on request. See also our full case study library.

Rebridging and refinance bridging loan FAQs

Who wrote this page and how it is kept up to date

How we compiled the figures

The 0.74% starting rate and the fee structure reflect our panel's indicative pricing for a standard residential rebridge in October 2026. Figures for commercial, land, default and unfinished-works cases are deliberately left as "individually priced" rather than estimated, because the spread between cases is too wide for a single number to be useful. Worked examples use the stated ladder with no rounding beyond the nearest pound; they are illustrations of the method, not quotations.

Sources

• FCA Handbook, PERG 4: when a loan secured on property is a regulated mortgage contract
• Law of Property Act 1925, section 101: a mortgagee's power to appoint a receiver and sell
• HM Land Registry practice guide 31: discharging a registered charge on redemption