£1.45m buy-to-let finance to buy a block of flats at speed
- Sector
- Residential property investment
- Facility
- £1.45m five-year fixed-rate buy-to-let mortgage, secured against an existing block of flats in the portfolio
- Lender
- A UK challenger bank
- Completed
- July 2026
The situation
A property investor with a portfolio of around 20 residential buy-to-let properties, none of them carrying debt, had agreed to buy a block of six one- and two-bedroom flats. The seller wanted a quick sale, so the investor needed to move fast to secure it.
The new block needed a small amount of work before it could be let, so lending against it on day one would have meant a short-term bridge followed by a refinance. That is two sets of fees and two processes. The investor also wanted long-term, fixed-cost debt they could hold for five years and then exit.
What we did
- Found a better structure than a bridge. Rather than borrow against the block being bought, we used an unencumbered 12-flat block already in the portfolio as security. That raised the purchase funds on long-term terms from day one, with no bridge and no refinance later.
- Won a competitive pitch. The investor was also weighing several options presented by another brokerage. We went to a challenger bank and specialist buy-to-let lenders, had terms back within a week and put forward the strongest package on cost, speed and flexibility, which won the mandate.
- Secured strong terms. The successful challenger bank offer was a five-year fixed rate on an interest-only or amortising basis, with the arrangement fee added to the loan. It kept the investor's cash free for the works on the new block.
- Drove it through to drawdown. We kept underwriting moving, handled the lender's information requests, and worked between both sets of solicitors on the valuation, the offer and moving an existing charge so the bank could take first charge over the security block.
The result
| Area | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Funding for the purchase | Needed fast, against a block that needed work | £1.45m raised against an existing, unencumbered block |
| Structure | Bridge first, then refinance | One long-term loan from day one |
| Cost certainty | Bridging rates and two sets of fees | Five-year fixed rate |
| Portfolio | 20 properties, no debt | Larger portfolio, modest gearing, new block owned outright |
Why it worked
The quickest money is not always a bridge. By using equity already sitting in the portfolio, the investor bought the new block without a short-term loan, avoided a second refinance and locked in their funding cost for five years. Putting the right lenders side by side meant the investor chose on the full picture of rate, speed and flexibility.