The vast majority of bridging loans we arrange now sit inside a limited company — usually an SPV (special purpose vehicle) set up specifically for the property. It's the default structure for serious investors and developers, and the rules that apply are different from personal borrowing. Here's what matters when you're borrowing through a company.

Why SPVs Dominate Property Finance

Two things shifted the market. The Finance Act changes from the mid-2010s restricted mortgage interest relief for individual landlords, so holding investment property personally became significantly more expensive in tax terms. At the same time, lenders became comfortable underwriting SIC-code-97 and SIC-code-68 SPVs as standard borrowers. Today, corporate lending sits at the heart of the bridging market — it's not niche, it's normal.

The SPV isolates the property from your other assets, simplifies ownership on multi-party deals, and makes onward refinance or disposal cleaner. For any investor building a portfolio, it's the sensible default.

Are the Rates Different?

No — not materially. Headline bridging rates are the same whether the borrower is a company or an individual. What varies is lender appetite, and that varies by deal rather than by borrower type. Most of our panel is actively lending to SPVs across every product — residential, commercial, semi-commercial, refurbishment, and development exit.

Where the difference shows up is around newly incorporated companies, complex shareholder structures, and companies with trading history unrelated to property. Those deals need the right lender rather than a higher rate.

Brand-New SPV? Not a Problem

A lot of borrowers worry that using a company incorporated last week will cause a decline. It won't. Incorporating an SPV for a specific acquisition is standard practice, and lenders expect it. What they actually assess is:

The directors and shareholders — their experience, financial standing, and credit history.
The SPV's SIC codes — 68209 (letting and operating of own real estate) is the cleanest; 97 codes are acceptable but flag more closely for some lenders.
The capital structure — how the deposit is being funded, where the equity comes from, whether any of it is borrowed.

A clean SPV with experienced directors is a stronger application than a trading company with unrelated business activity.

Personal Guarantees — What You're Actually Signing

Most limited-company bridging loans require personal guarantees from the directors. A PG is a legally binding commitment that if the company defaults, you're personally responsible for the debt up to the guaranteed amount. That can be 100% of the loan, or capped at a smaller percentage, depending on the lender.

PGs are negotiable. Capped PGs, PGs backed by independent legal advice certificates, and deals with no PG at all all exist in the market — they just need the right lender. We have specific routes for no-PG deals where LTV and equity position allow. They're not standard, but they're arrangeable.

Debentures and Floating Charges

Alongside the legal charge over the property, most company lenders will also take a debenture — a fixed and floating charge over the SPV's other assets. If the SPV holds only the one property, the debenture is essentially belt-and-braces. If the SPV holds other assets, the debenture captures those too.

Debentures register at Companies House and can affect future borrowing by the SPV (other lenders see them). This matters if the SPV will later take a term mortgage with a different lender — the bridge needs to be properly discharged and the debenture released before the refinance completes. It's one of the practical details that can slow down an exit if not managed properly.

Multi-Shareholder and JV Structures

Where an SPV has multiple shareholders — joint ventures, family partnerships, unrelated co-investors — lenders will scrutinise the shareholder agreement and usually require PGs from each shareholder holding a meaningful stake (typically 25% or more). Independent legal advice for each guarantor is standard.

Complex shareholder structures don't stop deals from getting done, but they do need the right lender and careful legal sequencing. Build in extra time for the legals.

Documents Lenders Want Upfront

For a limited-company bridging application, expect to provide:

Certificate of incorporation, memorandum, and articles of association
Current confirmation statement from Companies House
Shareholder register and any shareholder agreement
Director ID, proof of address, and credit checks
Management accounts (if trading) or a statement of affairs (if newly incorporated)
Evidence of deposit funds and their origin
Where relevant: accountant reference and source-of-wealth documentation for larger loans

Having this pack ready before you apply cuts completion time in half. Without it, every information request creates a delay that eats into your exchange timeline.

The Practical Point

Limited-company bridging is the standard route, not the exception. Rates are the same, lender choice is broad, and a newly incorporated SPV is not a problem. The areas that need attention are the PG structure, the debenture, and the documentation — the places where deals either run smoothly or get bogged down.

Getting the structure right at the outset is what separates a three-week completion from a six-week grind. If you're about to set up an SPV for a specific deal, we can help you think through the structure before you incorporate — it's easier to get right the first time than to unpick later.

Limited Company Bridging Loans Explained