Commercial Finance Broker for Property and Business, UK-Wide
Bridging, commercial mortgages, development finance, buy-to-let and business lending, placed with a panel of more than 350 lenders. Before anything is submitted we tell you which lenders will engage with your deal, what to expect on loan to value and rate, and how the application should be put together.
★★★★★4.9 out of 5from 178 Trustist reviews Read what clients say →
What We Arrange
Nineteen services sit in four sections. Each line asks the question it answers, so pick the one closest to your situation and the page behind it explains how lenders treat that kind of deal.
Why Clients Stay With Us
Most people who contact us have already been told no, or have been handed a quote that looks too good to be true. We start by working out which of those two problems you have, because the fix is different for each.
We are not tied to a panel
Banks, challenger lenders and specialist funders are all looked at, and the recommendation is whichever one suits the deal. Our fee never depends on steering you towards a particular name.
We know who says yes
Bridging, commercial mortgages, development facilities and business lending have been our daily work since 2017. That experience shows in knowing which lenders move quickly, which cope with unusual structures and which will only waste your time.
You can see where your case stands
Every application runs through WiiN, our client portal. Each update, document and lender message appears there at any hour, and a named case manager answers the phone when you would rather talk.
Why Use a Commercial Finance Broker Rather Than Going Direct
Here is the problem with applying to a commercial lender yourself. You can't see their rules. The rate card tells you the headline margin and not much else, and the things that actually decide the case, like what they think of a four-year lease or a developer on their first scheme or a limited company that only filed its first accounts in March, sit in a credit policy you'll never be shown.
So you apply, and you wait. We've seen a decline take five weeks to arrive. By then the vendor has usually moved on, and the search is sitting on your company's credit file for the next lender to find. Do that twice and the third lender starts the conversation already wary.
Our job as a commercial finance broker is to make that guesswork go away. We've been placing bridging, commercial mortgages, development facilities and business loans since 2017, and over that time we've built up a working knowledge of what more than 350 lenders will and won't do. That knowledge is the product, really. It means we can tell you on the first call which lenders are worth approaching for your deal and which will waste a month of your life, and the application goes in once, properly assembled, to someone we already know will engage with it.
You don't pay for the first conversation. When a loan completes the lender normally pays us a commission, and if we also charge you a fee, you'll have the figure in writing before you commit to anything. It's never tied to which lender we put you with. If you'd like a feel for pricing before you ring, we keep our commercial mortgage rates page up to date each month.
What to Look For in a Commercial Finance Broker
Regulation first, and we mean actually look rather than take the number on the website at face value. Put the firm's name into the Financial Conduct Authority register and read the entry. We're directly authorised under reference 796413. It's worth knowing that most commercial mortgages, bridging loans and business lending fall outside FCA regulation anyway, so on those products what you're relying on is the firm's own conduct. In our experience a firm that has had to meet the FCA's standards on its regulated work doesn't run the unregulated side any differently.
Next, press them on what "whole of market" means in practice. It ought to mean high street banks, challenger banks and the specialist funders, and it ought to cover business finance alongside property. There are brokers who do nothing but bridging loans, and they will find a bridging answer to whatever you bring them. If your broker also arranges term lending, development finance, asset finance and invoice finance, they can tell you when a bridge is the wrong instrument, which is at least as valuable as placing one.
Then there's the question nobody asks until it goes wrong: who is going to run the case? Often the person who took your first call is nowhere to be seen by the time the valuer needs chasing or the lender comes back with a third round of questions. You want a named adviser, a named case manager, and some way of seeing where things stand that doesn't involve phoning for an update. With us that's the WiiN portal, and every document and lender message lands there.
And ask for proof. Case studies show whether the broker has done deals like yours before. Independent reviews on Trustist show how clients felt about it afterwards. If you'd rather have a fuller checklist to work through, we've written one on what to know before hiring a commercial finance broker.
From First Call to Funds
You tell us the deal
Phone us or fill in the secure form. We need the property, what the money is for, who is borrowing and the date the funds have to land.
We work through the market
We shortlist the lenders whose rules fit your case, then show you the rates, the fees and what each option would cost you in practice.
We submit once and follow it up
One properly assembled application goes in. After that we deal with the valuer, the lender's questions and the solicitors.
The funds arrive
We stay on the case until completion, and your file stays open for whatever you take on next.
Work Out the Numbers First
Try a few figures before you phone anyone. Each product has its own calculator below, and our rates page shows where commercial mortgage pricing sits right now.
See How Deals Come Together
Our case studies show how specific deals were put together. The news page follows changes in lending as they happen.
Ten Minutes on the Phone Is Usually Enough to Know Where You Stand
Advice is free and there is no obligation. Phone +44 1494 622 111, email info@cfnuk.com or send the secure form, and a specialist will call you back.
Commercial Finance Broker FAQs
What does a commercial finance broker do?
A broker matches your deal to a lender whose rules fit it, builds the application and sees it through to completion.
Most of the value lies in not approaching the wrong lender first, because every decline costs weeks you may not have.
What can you arrange funding for?
Buying or refinancing property, development and refurbishment, short-term bridging, buy-to-let and HMO loans, and business finance such as loans, asset finance and invoice finance.
Our clients include landlords, developers, contractors, sole traders and limited companies.
How much does it cost to use Commercial Finance Network?
The first conversation costs nothing.
If a loan completes, the lender may pay us a commission. We explain how that works, and any fee we charge, before you agree to anything.
How quickly can funding be arranged?
It depends on the product. Bridging is usually the fastest route.
Commercial mortgages and development facilities take longer, since valuation, legal work and credit approval each need time. You get a timetable from us before you apply, and paperwork arriving late is the most common cause of delay.
Will I deal with the same person throughout?
Yes. You have a named adviser and a case manager from the first call until completion, and WiiN shows every stage whenever you want to check.
Is Commercial Finance Network regulated?
Commercial Finance Network is directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference 796413.
The FCA does not regulate some forms of buy-to-let, overseas and commercial finance.
Can I get commercial finance with adverse credit?
Usually, yes, though the pool of lenders shrinks and the rate climbs as the credit record gets worse.
A high street bank will generally say no to missed payments or a CCJ inside the last three years. The specialist lenders take a different view. They want to know what caused it, how long ago, and whether the deal works on its own numbers, and if it does they’ll often lend, sometimes at a higher margin or a lower loan to value. Our adverse credit mortgages page goes through what each kind of lender will tolerate.
What is the difference between a commercial mortgage and a bridging loan?
Length and purpose, mainly.
A commercial mortgage is long-term lending, anything from five to 25 years, priced against the income the property or the business generates and repaid monthly. A bridging loan is short, a few months up to two years, priced by the month, and cleared in one go when you sell or refinance. You’d use a bridge when the purchase has to complete inside days, when the building needs work before a term lender will value it, or when an auction deadline is looming. For a stable asset you plan to hold, a commercial mortgage is almost always the better fit.
Commercial Finance Network helps property investors, developers and businesses across the UK and internationally, with advice that covers the whole of the market. We are directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, although the FCA does not regulate some forms of buy-to-let, overseas and commercial finance. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
