80% LTV Bridging Loans: maximum standard leverage, honestly explained
An 80% LTV bridging loan sits at the very top of the standard market: fewer lenders, sharper questions, and a gross-to-net gap you need to see before you commit. Here is how the maximum leverage bridge really works.
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What 80% LTV really means: gross vs net
Here is the trap. The 80% almost always describes the gross loan, the headline figure the lender approves. Retained interest and the arrangement fee come off that before the money lands, so the net amount in your hand on day one is meaningfully less, often somewhere around 70% to 73% of the property value depending on the term. Two lenders can both say 80% and put very different amounts in your account.
Run your own numbers through the bridging calculator: it shows the gross loan, the deductions, and the net advance side by side, so the gap is visible before anyone is committed to anything.
"I like my cake and I like to eat it as well. But we can't always do that. What most lenders will lend out there is 75% gross, 70% gross even with some lenders."
Who lends at 80%, and at what price
Fewer lenders play at 80% than at 70% or 75%, and the ones that do price it at the top of the standard range, our rates page shows the current band. Two rules shape the market: secured on your own home the loan is regulated and most lenders cap nearer 75%, while 80% mostly lives in unregulated territory, investment and business purpose deals. And at maximum leverage the exit gets read hardest of all, because the lender has the least cushion if the plan slips.
Above 80%: how 90% and 100% happen
Headline LTV stops at 80%, but the deal doesn't have to. Lenders will go to 90% or even 100% of the purchase when the loan is secured on additional property as well, a second or third charge over something else you own. What actually matters then is the combined position across everything charged. It's a powerful structure and a bigger commitment, the same honest trade as portfolio bridging: more leverage, more of your assets on the line.
Five flats under one freehold title, funded at 80% LTV in 17 working days, with the gross and net set out in full.
See the case studies we have published →A worked example: the £500,000 purchase
A client came to me a while back and said he'd found a bridging lender who would do 80% on his purchase. There aren't many who will, so I said show me the terms and let me have a look.
The terms said 80% gross. He was buying at £500,000 and he had about £120,000 of cash. His maths was simple enough: 80% of £500,000 is £400,000, so he was going to put down £100,000 and still have a bit spare.
Once we netted it out, the money actually reaching him was around £340,000. Not £400,000. So instead of £100,000 he needed about £160,000, and he had £120,000. The deal he thought was comfortably covered was short before anyone had lifted a hammer.
Is the 80% gross or net? That's the difference between a deal you can complete and a deal you can't. Nobody is hiding it, but nobody volunteers it either, and the headline number is always the gross one.
What most lenders actually lend
People come to me and say they want to put down as little as possible, borrow as much as possible, have the best rate, the best arrangement fee, and complete within a couple of days. I like my cake and I like to eat it as well. But we can't always do that.
What most lenders will lend is 75% gross. With some lenders it's 70%. Eighty percent does exist, and at the time of writing there's a lender who will consider 80% net, but you need a genuinely good proposition in front of them. There will be a minimum loan size, a maximum loan to value against the gross development value, and they'll want the exit strategy in detail.
Lenders aren't in the market for putting you on bridges you can't get out of. That's exactly why there are so few of them at this level, and why the ones who are there come with a lot of ifs, buts and maybes.
One thing worth saying plainly: this page is about buying at market value and putting in as little as possible. It's not about below market value deals, where a lender may work from the open market value rather than the price you paid. That's a different conversation with different numbers.
Where 80% deals go wrong
I've seen this one more than once. A client takes an 80% bridge. The plan is to buy it, do the works, and sell it. Reasonable plan.
Then the works cost more than they thought. The materials went up, so there was more to spend at a higher price. The trades were delayed, so it went on the market later than planned. And it didn't sell for what they expected it to.
Now they come to us wanting a remortgage to get out of the bridge. But a refinance only goes to 75% of the value, and they put very little in and spent a lot, so there's no wriggle room left. The deal that needed everything to go right had nothing in reserve when one thing went wrong.
At 80% there's no margin for error built into the deal. Every pound of contingency has to come out of your own pocket, because the loan has already taken the rest. That's the honest reason so few lenders play at this level, and why the ones who do ask harder questions.
How to work out your end value before you buy
People ask me the best way to work out the gross development value. It's not rocket science.
Go on Rightmove. Type in the postcode of the property you're buying and set a radius, a quarter of a mile, half a mile, a mile, whatever suits the area. Then look at what properties are actually selling for, and look at three things while you're there.
- How the agents are pricing it. Guide price, or offers over? Those say different things about what the seller expects to get.
- How long things have been sitting. One or two properties on the market six months with no movement tells you plenty.
- The price drops. You can see when a property has come down and by how much. That's the market telling you what it thinks the place is worth.
If the comparable properties aren't shifting, yours won't shift either, and your exit takes longer than your bridge lasts. Work that out before you buy, not afterwards.
Your questions
What is the maximum LTV for a bridging loan?
80% is the practical ceiling of the standard market, and 75% is the usual cap when the loan is secured on your own home. Beyond that, lenders go higher, up to 100% of the purchase, only when additional property secures the loan too.
Can I get an 80% LTV bridging loan?
Yes, from a smaller pool of lenders, mostly on investment and business purpose deals. Expect top-of-range pricing and the hardest look at your exit, because at maximum leverage the exit is doing all the work.
Is the 80% gross or net?
Almost always gross, and this is the question that catches people. After retained interest and fees, the net amount that lands is often nearer 70% to 73% of the property value. Always compare deals on the net figure, which is exactly what our calculator shows.
Can I borrow 100% of a property value with a bridging loan?
Yes, if the loan is also secured on another property you own. The lender is really looking at the combined loan to value across everything charged, so the more equity elsewhere, the further the funding stretches.
Are bridging rates higher at 80% LTV?
Yes. Less cushion means more risk, and the pricing follows. The current top-band ranges are on our rates page, and every deal is case by case.
Do regulated and unregulated bridging loans have different LTV limits?
Generally yes. Regulated deals, secured on your own home, usually cap around 75%. The 80% market is mostly unregulated lending on investment and business deals, which is also why it moves faster.
Can I get a 90% LTV bridging loan?
Not against one property alone in the standard market. 90% happens the same way 100% does: additional security over another property you own, so the lender is really working from the combined loan to value across everything charged. If you've equity elsewhere, 90% of the purchase is a very achievable structure.
Can I exit an 80% bridging loan onto an 80% buy to let mortgage?
That's the classic high-leverage play. Bridge the purchase at 80%, do the works, then refinance onto a buy to let mortgage, available up to around 80% LTV, against the improved value. The uplift you created closes the gap, and we line up the exit mortgage before the bridge completes, not after.
How do I work out the end value before I buy?
Go on Rightmove, type in the postcode and set a radius that suits the area. Then look at three things: whether agents are quoting a guide price or offers over, how long places have been sitting, and where prices have been dropped. If the comparable properties aren't shifting, yours won't either, and your exit takes longer than your bridge lasts.
What happens if the property doesn't sell for what I expected?
This is the usual way an 80% deal comes unstuck. If you need to refinance out instead, a remortgage only goes to about 75% of the value, and if you put very little in and spent a lot on the works there's no wriggle room left. At 80% there's no contingency built into the deal, so it has to come from your own pocket.
Got a deal like this on your desk?
Tell us the numbers and we'll tell you honestly what's achievable.
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