Why choose Mercantile Trust?
With our common sense approach to lending, we offer flexible and quick solutions tailored to your needs.
What is a first charge bridging loan?
A first charge bridging loan is a short-term loan secured against a property where the bridging lender holds the first-ranking legal charge.
This means the lender has the first claim over the proceeds from the property if it has to be sold to repay the secured borrowing.
A first charge bridging loan will commonly be used when:
- The property is owned outright and has no mortgage secured against it.
- A property is being purchased without a conventional mortgage.
- An existing mortgage will be repaid when the bridging loan completes.
- Short-term finance is needed before a longer-term mortgage can be arranged.
First charge bridging finance is different from a second charge bridging loan, which sits behind an existing first mortgage or secured loan.
First Charge Bridging Loan criteria
- Nationwide Coverage: Available for properties across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
- Borrowing on Buy to Let, HMO, Holiday let, MUFBs, and Student Lets for any legal purposes
- Competitive LTV: Borrow up to 75% loan-to-value (LTV)
- Diverse Property Types: Most construction types accepted
- Landlord-Friendly Terms: No minimum income required for existing landlords
- Affordable Entry: Minimum property value of £75,000
- Loan Sizes: Borrow from £25,000 to £500,000
- Flexible Repayment: Choose monthly payments or repay at the end of the term
- No Early Repayment Charges: Repay early with no penalties, just a discharge fee of £245 applies
Why choose Mercantile Trust for Bridging Loans?
Mercantile Trust is a specialist UK lender providing fast, flexible bridging finance. We manually assess each application, considering the property, borrower and exit strategy.
What Makes Us Different?
- Dedicated bridging specialists
- Manual underwriting approach
- Fast decisions and completions
- Adverse credit considered
- Automated valuations available in some cases
- Flexible repayment options
- No early repayment charges on selected products
- Lending throughout the UK including Scotland and Northern Ireland
A clear application process
- No upfront application fees
- No broker fees when applying directly
- No obligation to proceed
- No hard credit check at the initial enquiry stage – we use a soft search, which won’t affect your credit score.
Our bridging loans are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but we remain committed to responsible lending and clear support throughout the process.
Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a debt secured against it.
Application process
1
Submit your enquiry
2
Receive an initial lending decision
3
Property valuation instructed
4
Legal work completed
5
Funds released
Ready to get started?
We are here for anyone who needs flexible and tailored loan solutions. Whether you have complex income, have imperfect credit, are employed or self-employed, or need faster access to funds than a high street lender can offer — we’re here to help.
Let’s discuss how we can help your next investment. Speak to an expert.
Frequently asked questions about Bridging Loans