£260,000 Commercial Bridging Loan Agreed on a Desktop Valuation
Our client was purchasing a fully commercial property in Dover, Kent — £400,000 against a £550,000 market value — and needed the case underwritten on a desktop valuation rather than a full physical inspection. On fully commercial security, most lenders won't entertain that. We placed the case with a lender who would, and completed the purchase at 65% of the purchase price on a 12-month interest-only facility.
£260,000
Loan amount
65%
Loan-to-value
12 Months
Term
The Client Scenario
Our client — a commercial property investor — had agreed to purchase a fully commercial unit in Dover, Kent. The price was £400,000 against a market value of £550,000 : a £150,000 margin sitting in the deal on day one, and a very good reason not to let the transaction slip.
The security was fully commercial. Not semi-commercial, not a shop with a flat above — no residential element at all. That single detail thins the lender pool considerably before any other variable is discussed, because commercial security carries a different risk profile and a different valuation discipline to anything with a residential component.
The client's requirement was where the case became difficult. They wanted it underwritten on a desktop valuation — no physical inspection, no valuer arranging access to a trading commercial unit, no multi-week wait for a full report before the lender could move. On standard residential security that's routine, because comparable data is abundant. On fully commercial property it isn't, and most lenders will not accept it.
If the case couldn't be funded on a desktop basis, the purchase — and the £150,000 of margin behind it — was at risk.
What Could Have Gone Wrong
Asking for a desktop valuation on fully commercial security isn't a preference a lender quietly accommodates — it's a credit policy question. A commercial unit's value sits in its use class, its condition, its occupier and its position in a local market in a way a residential comparable set cannot replicate from behind a desk. For most lenders the answer is no before the conversation starts.
The exposure on this file was never the rate or the leverage. It was placing the case with a lender who signalled flexibility early, then discovering at credit stage that the desktop route was never actually available. The specific risks:
- A lender indicating desktop appetite at enquiry stage, then reverting to a full physical inspection once the case reached credit
- A physical commercial inspection adding weeks to the timeline, with valuer access dependent on an occupier outside anyone's control
- A cautious desktop figure coming back below market value, cutting the leverage and opening a deposit shortfall the client would have had to cover in cash
- Re-placing the case with a new lender late in the process — fees already committed, and the £150,000 price-to-value margin lost entirely if the purchase fell away
The Solution
We didn't send the case out widely and wait to see who came back. The market was screened on one question first — which lenders will genuinely underwrite a fully commercial purchase on a desktop valuation, confirmed at credit level rather than by a business development manager keen to take the enquiry. That's a short list, and knowing it in advance is what protected the timeline.
Once the right funder was identified, the case was packaged so the desktop route was defensible rather than merely requested. £260,000 against a £400,000 purchase price is 65% LTV — but against the £550,000 market value it's 47% . Framed that way, the lender was being asked to lend at under half of value on an asset it had not physically inspected. The margin did most of the arguing.
- Screened the market specifically for lenders that underwrite fully commercial security on a desktop valuation — not simply lenders comfortable with commercial property
- Confirmed desktop appetite at credit level before submission, rather than assuming flexibility would still be there at offer stage
- Evidenced the £400,000 purchase price against the £550,000 market value to support the valuation approach with hard numbers
- Presented the facility at 47% of market value, giving the lender clear headroom on an asset it had not inspected
- Structured the loan interest-only over 12 months at 1.10% pcm, keeping the client's outlay to interest alone during the bridge
- Ran the case through underwriting to completion inside the timeframe the client had to work with — no physical inspection required
The Outcome
£260k
Facility Secured
65%
Of Purchase Price
47%
Of £550,000 Market Value
1.10%
Monthly Rate — 12-Month Interest-Only Term
Desktop Valuation Accepted — No Physical Inspection
Purchase Completed — £150,000 Day-One Margin Protected
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a bridging loan on a commercial property using a desktop valuation?
Sometimes — but only with a small number of lenders, and usually only where the leverage gives them room. On this deal the client purchased a fully commercial unit in Dover for £400,000 against a £550,000 market value and borrowed £260,000. At 47% of value, the lender had enough margin to accept a desktop assessment. At 75% LTV on the same property the answer would almost certainly have been no. The lower the loan sits against value, the more realistic a desktop valuation becomes.
What is a desktop valuation, and why do lenders resist them on commercial property?
A desktop valuation is prepared remotely by a valuer using land registry data, comparable evidence and market information, without visiting the property. It's faster and cheaper than a full inspection. Lenders accept them readily on standard residential security because comparable data is abundant. Commercial property is different — value depends on use class, condition, occupier and local demand, none of which are reliably visible from a desk. That's why most lenders insist on a physical inspection for fully commercial security, and why identifying the exceptions matters.
What happens if the lender refuses the desktop valuation part-way through?
You lose time, and usually money. A case that reaches credit stage before the valuation basis is rejected has to be repackaged for a new lender, and fees already committed are generally gone. That's exactly what we structure around: on this deal, desktop appetite was confirmed at credit level before submission rather than taken on trust from an initial conversation. Confirming it early is the difference between a completed purchase and starting again with the deadline unchanged.
What LTV can I get on a commercial bridging loan?
Fully commercial security typically attracts lower leverage than residential or semi-commercial — commonly in the 60% to 70% range, against the lower of purchase price or market value. This case completed at 65% of the purchase price. Where you want a lender to flex on something else, such as valuation type or speed, coming in below the maximum LTV gives you considerably more negotiating room.
Can I borrow against the market value rather than the purchase price?
On a purchase, lenders almost always lend against the lower of the two — so here the £260,000 was set against the £400,000 price, not the £550,000 valuation. The market value still worked hard for the client: it evidenced a genuine below-value acquisition and gave the lender the comfort it needed to accept a desktop assessment. Some lenders will consider day-one market value where there's a clear, documented reason for the discount, but it shouldn't be assumed at the outset.
Facing a Tight Deadline of Your Own?
Talk to an advisor today — most cases get an initial answer within hours.