Black & White Bridging: products, terms and eligibility

Black & White Bridging is a UK provider of bridging loans. The legal entity named on its site is Bath and West Finance Limited, company number 07673439. It is based in Bristol. Companies House shows the company was incorporated 2011.

Black & White Bridging is a trading name of Bath and West Finance Limited, incorporated in 2011 (Companies House number 07673439). Its site says it grew from a small team based in Bath into a national lender headquartered in Bristol. It lists offices in Bristol, London (Farringdon) and Manchester (Spinningfields). It works with intermediaries and says it is not FCA authorised for its products but is supervised by the FCA for money laundering purposes.

Everything on this page comes from what Black & White Bridging publishes itself. We show the date we last checked it, and we do not rate or rank lenders.

Black & White Bridging publishes 4 products for UK businesses. The table above gives the amounts and terms as it states them.

• Residential bridge: Serviced or retained interest; max LTV 80% of 180 day value or 90% of purchase price if below market value.
• Commercial bridge: Serviced or retained interest; max LTV 70% of 180 day value, or 55% for land with planning.
• Auction bridge: Serviced or retained interest; max LTV 75% of 180 day value or 90% of purchase price if below market value.
• Refurbishment bridge: Rolled interest; max drawdown £250k; max LTGDV 70%.

Residential bridge

Short-term finance to buy a property before selling another, upsize, or release capital while longer-term finance is arranged. It is secured by a first legal charge on the residential property. Loans run from £50,000 to £5m (larger by referral) for 3 to 24 months, with interest either serviced monthly or retained and repaid at exit. The site says it can lend up to 80% of value using an Automated Valuation Model for qualifying properties, or 90% of purchase price where below market value.

Commercial bridge

Short-term finance to acquire, refinance or restructure fully commercial or semi-commercial property (such as offices, warehouses, retail units or shops with flats above) and land with planning permission. Lenders take a first legal charge. The site gives maximum LTVs of 70% of 180 day value, or 55% for land with planning. Loans run from £50,000 to £5m for 3 to 24 months, with serviced or retained interest.

Refurbishment bridge

For alterations from light upgrades to full renovations before sale or refinance, without needing a full development loan. The site says loans run from £100k to £5m (larger by referral), build costs are funded up to 100% and maximum loan-to-gross-development-value is 70%. The maximum drawdown per transaction is £250k from an agreed facility, the term is up to 24 months and interest rolls up to the end of the loan.

Auction bridge

Finance aimed at completing auction purchases within the auction deadline. The site gives LTV limits in its product summary but the auction page itself lists no separate loan limits. Loans run from £50k to £5m for 3 to 24 months.

Black & White Bridging says its finance is used for:

• Buying before selling an existing property
• Auction purchases
• Releasing capital while arranging long-term finance
• Light to full refurbishment before sale or refinance
• Securing tenants or planning permission on commercial property

Sectors and business types it says it funds:

• Residential property
• Commercial and semi-commercial property
• Auction purchases
• Refurbishment projects
• Development finance and development exit

Black & White Bridging publishes these criteria. Meeting them does not mean an application will be accepted: every lender makes its own decision.

• Property bridging secured on residential, commercial, semi-commercial, auction and refurbishment assets.
• Land lending only where planning permission has already been granted.
• Automated valuation model available for qualifying properties up to 80% LTV on residential bridging.

Black & White Bridging describes its process like this:

1. The broker contacts a lending manager by phone or the contact form.
2. The lender says it will say upfront whether it can do the deal.
3. Underwriting and valuation follow on the property offered as security.

Every application is subject to status and the lender’s own criteria at the time.

A bridging loan is short-term borrowing secured on property, used to bridge a gap until a sale or longer-term finance completes. Interest is often rolled up or retained and repaid with the loan at the end, so the plan for repaying it, known as the exit, matters as much as the property.

Lenders lend up to a share of the property’s value and will want to see that exit. Bridging costs more than long-term borrowing, so it is worth understanding how lenders differ before you compare offers.

Points Black & White Bridging publishes that are worth knowing:

• Not authorised or regulated by the FCA for its products or services; supervised by the FCA for money laundering purposes only.
• Product guide is available on request from the website.
• Larger loans than £5m are available by referral.

Security and guarantees

Residential and commercial bridging are secured by a first legal charge on the property. Interest can be serviced monthly or retained and repaid at exit.

Black & White Bridging’s site states: “Black & White Bridging is a trading name of Bath and West Finance Limited (07673439) and its associated companies incorporated in England and Wales, York House, 1300 Parkway North, Bristol, BS34 8YU. We are not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for our products or services. We are supervised by the FCA for money laundering purposes.”

Protections differ by borrower type and loan size. Most lending to limited companies is not regulated consumer credit, so read the agreement and ask the lender what applies to you.

Other providers of bridging loans with profiles here include Bridge Help, Bridging Finance Solutions (BFS) and Colenko. Each profile uses that lender’s own published terms.

The full list, grouped by product type, is in our directory of UK business lenders.

Capzy is a credit broker, not a lender, and gets paid by the lender. One application lets your business compare options across lenders, so you can weigh this kind of facility against the alternatives. You can check your funding options with a soft search that does not affect your credit score. A full application to a lender may involve a hard search, and any offer is subject to status and lender criteria.