Property development finance for limited companies.
Funding to build, convert and refurbish, from 0.84% per month. Drawn in stages, sized on what you will create. Arranged by a group that has delivered 435 units of its own.
What is development finance?
Development finance is funding to build, convert or substantially refurbish property. It is the money that takes a site from bare land, or from an empty building, to finished units that are sold or let.
It is different from a mortgage and different from a simple bridge. A mortgage funds a finished property you will hold. A bridge funds a quick purchase or a light project. Development finance funds the construction itself, released in stages as the build progresses and sized against the value you will create rather than the value that is there today.
We arrange it for limited companies, SPVs and property developers across the UK, with our own work concentrated in Greater Manchester and the wider North West. It is also, not incidentally, the finance we have used to fund our own schemes for 22 years.
For market context: UK bridging and development lender loan books reached a record £13.4bn in 2025, with an average completion time of 41 days, according to the Bridging & Development Lenders Association. Development and refurbishment remain among the leading uses of short-term property finance.
How development finance is drawn.
This is the defining feature, and the thing that makes it different from every other property loan.
You do not receive development finance as a lump sum. It is released in stages, called drawdowns, against work actually completed, usually confirmed by a monitoring surveyor the lender appoints.
- An initial advance against the land, often part-funding the purchase
- Staged drawdowns as construction hits agreed milestones: foundations, wall plate, roof, first fix, completion
- Each drawdown released only after the monitoring surveyor confirms the work
Why it is structured this way: the lender's risk falls as the building rises. Releasing money against completed work rather than promises is what makes larger facilities possible at all.
- You pay interest only on what is drawn, not on the whole facility, so early-stage costs are lower than the headline figure suggests.
- Your cashflow has to bridge each stage until the drawdown lands. Monitoring surveyor visits take time, and that time is yours to fund.
- The build programme is the finance programme. Slippage on site is slippage on drawdowns.
How lenders size it: GDV, LTGDV and LTC.
Development finance is sized on numbers most borrowers meet here for the first time.
GDV
Gross Development Value. What the finished scheme is worth: the sum of the completed units at market value. Everything keys off this number.
LTGDV
Loan to GDV. The facility as a percentage of that finished value. Lenders commonly cap this around 60 to 70 per cent. It is the ceiling on total borrowing.
LTC
Loan to Cost. The facility as a percentage of total project cost: land, build and fees. Often capped separately, commonly around 80 to 90 per cent. This determines how much cash you put in.
The interaction is the point. A lender applies both caps and lends the lower of the two. A scheme with a strong GDV but a thin margin can be constrained by loan to cost; a high-cost scheme by loan to GDV. Working out which cap binds your deal is most of structuring it well.
Borrowers search for "70% GDV development finance" for a reason: that number decides whether a scheme funds. If yours is tight against one cap, we will tell you which one and what would move it.
Development finance vs bridging.
They overlap, and people confuse them. Here is the honest line between the two.
Bridging
Funds a fast purchase or a light project. A lump sum, secured on the property as it is today, repaid on sale or refinance. Right for buying quickly, light refurbishment, or an auction lot.
Development finance
Funds construction. Drawn in stages, sized on GDV, geared to a build programme. Right for ground-up building, conversions, and heavy refurbishment that changes the building.
The grey area is heavy refurbishment. A large project can be structured either way. As a rough line: if the work is mostly cosmetic and quick, it is a refurbishment bridge; if it is structural, staged, and adds substantial value, it is development finance.
We arrange both, so we have no reason to push you toward one. We will tell you which fits the scheme. Refurbishment bridging → · Bridging finance →
100% development finance and JV funding.
"100% development finance" means funding the whole project cost with no cash deposit from you. It exists, but it is worth understanding what it actually is before you go looking for it.
True 100% is rare and expensive, and usually means one of three things:
- A joint venture. A funding partner puts in the equity in exchange for a share of the profit. You bring the deal and the delivery, they bring the money. That is not really a loan; it is a partnership.
- Additional security. You pledge another property to cover the gap between the lender's normal cap and 100%.
- An exceptional margin. A scheme strong enough that the lender's loan to GDV cap alone covers the full cost.
The honest version: most "100% development finance" is joint venture funding by another name. If you have no cash but a strong scheme and the ability to deliver it, a JV can work. You are trading equity for capital, and you should go in knowing that. Joint ventures explained →
We will tell you honestly whether your scheme supports it, or whether what you are really looking at is a joint venture.
Priced on the scheme, not on a website.
Development finance starts from 0.84% per month. What you actually pay depends on the scheme, and it is priced differently from a term loan.
- Interest on drawn funds, not on the whole facility, and often rolled up rather than paid monthly.
- An arrangement fee on the facility.
- An exit fee, sometimes charged on GDV rather than on the loan. Read this one carefully: it is often the largest single cost in the deal.
- Monitoring surveyor fees, valuation and legals, which are real money and rarely quoted up front by anyone.
A word on experience. Development pricing and availability turn heavily on your track record. A first-time developer faces a narrower lender panel and higher pricing than someone with completed schemes behind them. We will tell you where you sit rather than let you find out at credit committee.
A broker that is also a developer.
Most development finance brokers have never run a site. We have: 435 units delivered, made up of 390 build-to-rent and 45 co-living homes.
- We read your appraisal the way a lender's credit team will, because we have written our own and had them tested.
- We know which GDVs a valuer will cut, and we will flag the optimism before the lender does.
- We understand the monitoring surveyor process from the borrower's side: what they check, and what delays a drawdown.
- We know why a scheme that stacks on paper stalls at first fix, and we structure the facility for the build that actually happens.
We are independent. No lender owns us, and we place your scheme with whichever lender's appetite genuinely fits it. See what we have built → · Meet the team →
On the conflict: we also develop, so in principle we might want a site you show us. Anything sent to the finance team stays with the finance team, and we will not bid on a scheme you bring us for funding. In writing before you send anything, if you would like that.
Development finance is arranged for limited companies and SPVs only.
Tell us the scheme, we will tell you where it prices.
- Call0333 577 1988
- Emailinfo@huntergrey.co.uk
- WhatsApp07977 486886
Not building yet? Bridging finance → · Model it: calculator →
Development finance, answered.
What is development finance?
Funding to build, convert or substantially refurbish property, released in stages against completed work and sized on the finished value (GDV). It funds construction itself, unlike a mortgage or a simple bridge.
How does development finance work?
A lender advances against the land, then releases staged drawdowns as the build hits milestones, each confirmed by a monitoring surveyor. You pay interest on what is drawn. The facility is repaid when units sell or the scheme refinances.
What is the difference between development finance and bridging?
Bridging is a lump sum for a fast purchase or light project, repaid on sale or refinance. Development finance is drawn in stages to fund construction and is sized on GDV. Heavy, structural projects are development finance; quick or cosmetic ones are bridging.
What is GDV?
Gross Development Value: the market value of the finished scheme, being the sum of the completed units. Lenders size the facility as a percentage of it.
What is loan to GDV?
The facility as a percentage of the finished value. Lenders typically cap it around 60 to 70 per cent, which sets the ceiling on total borrowing. Model it →
Can you get 100% development finance?
Rarely as a straight loan. It usually means a joint venture where a funding partner provides the equity for a profit share, or you provide additional security. Most "100%" finance is joint venture funding by another name.
Do first-time developers get development finance?
Yes, but the lender panel is narrower and pricing higher without a track record. Experience materially affects both availability and cost.
Do you work with individuals?
No. We arrange development finance for limited companies, SPVs and corporate developers only.