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Commercial Property Development Finance

Commercial Property Development Finance

By: Commercial Property Development Finance
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Commercial Property Development Finance The UK podcast on how development schemes actually get funded, hosted by Georgina. Every episode is a plain English walk through one part of the market, from commercial property development finance on the senior tier, to stretched senior, mezzanine finance, joint venture equity and development exit finance. Clear numbers, real worked examples, and how the money fits together. A development scheme is funded against what it will be worth when it is finished, the gross development value, not what the land or the half-built site is worth today. That single idea drives how every facility is sized. Lenders work to two limits at once: loan to cost, which sits indicatively at 65 to 70 percent, and loan to GDV, indicatively 60 to 65 percent. The facility is the lower of the two, so the binding constraint is whichever bites first on your numbers. Get those two figures right and you can read your own scheme the way a lender reads it. This is the show for the people who build, buy, fund or advise on UK commercial schemes: developers, investors, operators and the professionals around them. We cover the full ladder of development finance in plain terms: Senior development finance: the main loan, indicatively 65 to 70 percent of cost, priced around 9 to 12 percent per year against the base rate. Stretched senior: one lender pushing leverage higher, indicatively 75 to 80 percent of cost, for a higher rate. Mezzanine finance: a second layer behind the senior loan that lifts total leverage to roughly 85 to 90 percent. JV equity: a partner funding the remaining equity, which can take total funding up to 100 percent in exchange for a share of profit. Development exit finance: a cheaper loan that repays the development facility on practical completion, indicatively 70 to 75 percent loan to value over 6 to 18 months while you sell or let. Permitted development finance: funding conversions that use permitted development rights, such as offices to homes, instead of a full planning consent. We are an arranger and introducer of finance, not a lender. We place and structure the debt across the generic lender camps that fund development: specialist development lenders, challenger and clearing banks, real estate debt funds, and mezzanine and equity providers. On pricing, we keep things grounded. The Bank of England base rate is 3.75 percent, senior development finance rates sit indicatively around 9 to 12 percent per year, and an arrangement fee of roughly 1 to 2 percent of the facility is normal. Those are starting points to reason with, never an offer. Every figure on the show is grounded in real sources. We read across the Bank of England on rates, GOV.UK on planning and permitted development rights, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) on valuation and viability, so you get credible numbers rather than guesswork. The aim is simple: help you work out your day one equity, choose the right layer of the capital stack, and present your scheme to the right lender on terms that hold up. Hosted by Georgina at commercialpropertydevelopmentfinance.co.uk, with written analysis by founder Matt Lenzie. New episodes land quarterly, with the occasional bulletin when the rate cycle or the funding market shifts.Copyright Commmercial Property Development Finance 2026
Episodes
  • Commercial Property Development Finance: 2026 Market Outlook

    Commercial Property Development Finance: 2026 Market Outlook
    Jun 29 2026

    How does commercial property development finance actually work in 2026, and who funds what? Georgina walks through it in plain English, with real numbers and a worked example.

    What is covered:
    - What commercial property development finance is, and how staged drawdowns work
    - The 2026 backdrop with the Bank of England base rate held at 3.75%
    - How a lender sizes a loan on loan to cost (65 to 70% of cost) and loan to GDV (60 to 65% of value), and why the facility is the lower of the two
    - The worked example: a 3m GDV scheme on 2.2m of cost gives a maximum senior facility of 1.54m, with the gap as day one equity
    - The leverage ladder: senior 65 to 70%, stretched senior 75 to 80%, senior plus mezzanine 85 to 90%, JV equity up to 100% of cost
    - Development exit finance: a cheaper bridge at practical completion, LTV up to 70 to 75%, term 6 to 18 months
    - Permitted development finance and why the planning position has to be sound first
    - Where rates sit: senior development finance around 9 to 12% a year, arrangement fee around 1 to 2%, and the generic lender camps

    Guides behind this episode:
    Commercial Property Development Finance 2026 outlook
    Commercial Property Development Exit Finance
    Senior development finance
    Stretched senior development finance
    Mezzanine finance for property development
    JV equity for property development
    Permitted development finance
    Development finance rates

    Talk to us: https://www.commercialpropertydevelopmentfinance.co.uk/

    Written guides authored by Matt Lenzie.

    Sources: Bank of England (base rate); the money site's published indicative market bands.

    Disclaimer: We are an arranger and introducer of finance, not a lender, and we are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. This is general market commentary on unregulated commercial lending. Figures are indicative only and nothing here is an offer or advice.
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    11 mins
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