Bridging finance moves at a speed ordinary conveyancing can't match — completions in days, security over property, and loan agreements written firmly in the lender's favour. Connaught Law's bridge financing solicitors act for borrowers and lenders across the UK: reviewing terms, perfecting security and completing to bridging deadlines without letting speed become risk.
· Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority · Legal 500 · Lexcel
How We Can Help
When Bridging Is Used
Auction purchases on 28-day completions, chain breaks, refurbishment and conversion projects, development exits, and acquisitions — including international and acquisition bridge lending — where the opportunity won't wait for a mortgage offer. Bridging fills the gap; the legal work makes sure the gap doesn't swallow you.
Acting for Borrowers
A bridging loan agreement is not a standard mortgage: default interest rates, extension fees, retention arrangements and events of default sit in the drafting, and they bite hard. We review the agreement in principle and facility terms before you're committed, explain the true cost across the realistic term — not the headline monthly rate — and complete the security work to the lender's deadline.
Regulated vs Unregulated Bridging
A bridging loan secured on a home you or your family live in is generally a regulated mortgage contract with FCA protections; loans for business and investment purposes usually sit outside that regime, and some fall under the Consumer Credit Act's rules instead. Which side of the line your loan falls on changes your protections, the paperwork and the lender's obligations — worth knowing before signing, not after default.
Security, Charges & Guarantees
Bridging lenders take first or second legal charges, and frequently personal guarantees and debentures for company borrowers. We handle the security package on both sides: title investigation to lender requirements, charge registration at HM Land Registry and Companies House, priority arrangements with existing lenders — and, for guarantors, independent advice on what signing actually exposes.
Exit Strategy & Refinance
Every bridge needs a planned landing: sale, refinance to a term mortgage, or development completion. Most bridging problems are exit problems — the loan term expires before the exit completes, and default rates take over. We pressure-test the exit timetable at the outset and run the refinance or sale legals so the bridge is repaid inside its term.
Acting for Lenders
For private and specialist bridging lenders we prepare facility and security documentation, investigate title, verify borrower and source-of-funds compliance, and register the security correctly — and where loans default, our litigation team handles recovery and enforcement.
How We Work
Bridging runs on the lender's clock, so we run intake in hours, not days: terms reviewed as soon as the agreement in principle lands, title and search strategy agreed up front (indemnity insurance where waiting for searches would kill the deal), and completion coordinated with broker, lender and valuer. Speed with open eyes — you'll know the risks you're accepting before you accept them.
Why Connaught Law
01Bridging pace as standardDays-to-completion timetables are the product. Our process is built to hit them.
02The true cost, stated plainlyDefault rates, extension fees, retention maths — you see the realistic cost of the loan, not the brochure rate.
03Senior attention throughoutYour transaction is run by our experienced property team, not passed down — with direct access to the person handling it.
04Borrower and lender fluencyActing on both sides means we know where these agreements bite — and negotiate accordingly.
Fee structures are set out on our fees page — we quote clearly before you commit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast can a bridging loan complete?
With a responsive lender and clean title, days rather than weeks — auction deadlines of 28 days are routine. The legal variables are title issues, search strategy and how quickly the security package can be perfected; we front-load all three from day one.
Are bridging loans regulated?
It depends on the security and purpose. Loans secured on a dwelling you or close family occupy are generally FCA-regulated mortgage contracts; business and investment bridging is usually unregulated, with some agreements caught by Consumer Credit Act rules. The classification changes your protections materially — we confirm it before you sign.
What should I check in a bridging loan agreement?
The default interest rate and what triggers it, extension terms and fees, whether interest is retained or serviced, the events of default, and every fee in the schedule. The monthly headline rate is the least informative number in the document — the agreement's teeth are in the clauses around it.
What happens if I can't repay the bridge on time?
Default interest typically applies and the lender can enforce its security, ultimately by appointing receivers or taking possession. The practical answer is to act before expiry: extensions and re-bridges are negotiable from strength weeks out and expensive from weakness after default. If your exit is slipping, tell your solicitor early.
Bridging deadline approaching?
Send us the agreement in principle and the property details. We'll review the terms, flag the real risks and run the legals at bridging speed.
Get Expert Advice