Written by the Lendus editorial team. Last updated .
The best Avamore Capital alternatives include West One Loans for bridging from £50,000 including regulated cases, Shawbrook for a published maximum monthly rate from a licensed bank, Together for complex and non-standard property, Precise Mortgages for portfolio landlords and HMOs, Octopus Real Estate for regulated bridging and an EPC discount, Hampshire Trust Bank for a 21 day completion target with no early repayment charges, and LendInvest for the lowest published monthly rate floor.
Avamore Capital is a London-based principal lender that does bridging and development finance and nothing else. It has lent over £500 million and supported more than 342 borrowers since 2015, funding bridging from £250,000 to £25,000,000 at up to 75% loan-to-value, refurbishment from £250,000 and ground-up development from £500,000. Decisions are made in-house, bridging typically completes in 3 to 4 days, and refurbishment finance is often approved within 24 hours. It is flexible in ways many lenders are not, considering foreign and overseas resident borrowers, complicated equity structures and less experienced developers.
The reasons borrowers look elsewhere are precise, and none of them is about service.
The £250,000 floor comes first. Every lender in this guide starts lower, and most start at £50,000 or £75,000. A large share of UK bridging sits below Avamore’s minimum.
Geography is second. Avamore’s development finance is restricted to mainland England and Wales, so a Scottish or Northern Irish scheme is out of scope entirely.
Regulation is third. Avamore is not FCA-authorised. It describes itself as a provider of unregulated loans to corporate entities and private individuals, with lending to individuals structured to comply with exemptions under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001. If the security is a home you live in or intend to live in, you need a lender offering regulated bridging.
Rate structure is fourth. Avamore quotes from 0.56% per month with Bank of England Base Rate added to the Avamore rate and fixed for the life of the loan. That is a genuinely useful structure, since the base rate element is locked at drawdown rather than floating, but it makes direct comparison with a flat monthly quote harder, and no maximum rate is published because each loan is priced individually.
Below are seven lenders that each fix one of those four things.
West One is the most complete answer to Avamore’s two biggest limitations at once. It lends from £50,000, a fifth of Avamore’s minimum, and it provides both regulated and unregulated bridging, so it covers residential owner-occupier cases Avamore cannot touch. It also offers second charge bridging, lending behind an existing mortgage, which is a genuinely distinct capability rather than a pricing difference. Credit decisions come within 24 hours and completion typically takes 2 to 3 weeks.
Rates and amounts: 0.55% to 1.3% per month on bridging, with buy-to-let mortgages from 5.8% per annum; £50,000 to £20,000,000.
Eligibility: no trading history required for property-backed bridging; no turnover requirement, lending is property and asset backed.
Timeline: credit decision within 24 hours; completion typically 2 to 3 weeks.
Regulatory status: West One Secured Loans Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 776026.
Beats Avamore on: minimum loan size, regulated bridging and second charge capability. Its development finance is more limited than a dedicated development lender’s, and its £20,000,000 ceiling sits below Avamore’s £25,000,000.
Avamore publishes no maximum rate. Shawbrook does, capping bridging at 1.25% per month, and it holds a full banking licence, which changes the counterparty question entirely. It lends £50,000 to £25,000,000, matching Avamore’s ceiling exactly from a bank balance sheet, and issues indicative terms within 24 hours. It requires no minimum turnover on property finance and no trading history at all for property-backed bridging, and it is specifically strong on the complex cases that mainstream lenders decline: HMOs, portfolio landlords and semi-commercial assets.
Rates and amounts: 0.55% to 1.25% per month on bridging, commercial mortgages from 5.5% per annum; £50,000 to £25,000,000.
Eligibility: 12 months trading preferred, none required for property-backed bridging; no turnover requirement for property finance.
Timeline: indicative terms within 24 hours; completion typically 2 to 4 weeks.
Regulatory status: Shawbrook Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, firm reference number 204574.
Beats Avamore on: a published maximum rate, bank status and a £50,000 entry point. It is slower than pure bridging specialists on straightforward deals, so Avamore’s 3 to 4 day turnaround is hard to match.
Together has been lending since 1974 and built its business on the cases that do not fit anywhere else: unusual construction, non-standard income, adverse credit considered case by case. Where Avamore underwrites the scheme and the exit, Together will take a view on the whole picture, which is what you want when the property itself is the awkward part. It lends £50,000 to £25,000,000 at 0.55% to 1.5% per month and issues indicative terms within 24 hours.
Rates and amounts: 0.55% to 1.5% per month; £50,000 to £25,000,000.
Eligibility: no trading history required for property-backed lending; no turnover requirement, with the income and asset position reviewed.
Timeline: indicative terms within 24 hours; completion 2 to 4 weeks.
Regulatory status: Together Financial Services Limited is the group holding company and does not itself hold an FCA firm reference number. Its regulated lending entities include Together Personal Finance Limited (FRN 305253) and Blemain Finance Limited (FRN 719121).
Beats Avamore on: tolerance for non-standard property and adverse credit, and a £50,000 entry point. Its top rate of 1.5% per month is the highest published ceiling on this panel, and arrangement and legal costs add to the total.
Precise is part of FTSE 250 OSB Group and is built around specialist landlord criteria rather than developer schemes. It accepts portfolio landlords with 4 or more mortgaged properties, HMOs, multi-unit freehold blocks and semi-commercial property, and it takes complex income including self-employed and contractor earnings. It also offers term finance alongside bridging, with commercial and buy-to-let mortgages from 5.5% per annum, so the exit from the bridge can be arranged with the same lender.
Rates and amounts: 0.59% to 1.3% per month on bridging, commercial and buy-to-let mortgages from 5.5% per annum; £75,000 to £15,000,000.
Eligibility: no trading history required for property-backed lending; no turnover requirement, lending is property and income backed.
Timeline: credit decision within 48 hours; completion typically 3 to 4 weeks.
Regulatory status: Precise Mortgages is a trading name of Charter Court Financial Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 494549.
Beats Avamore on: portfolio landlord criteria and a term exit from the same lender. It is slower than Avamore on urgent completions and is primarily distributed through brokers.
Octopus offers both regulated and unregulated bridging from the same lender, so a borrower with one deal on their own home and another on an investment property can keep both in one place. It also runs the only sustainability incentive on this panel, a rate discount of up to 0.15% per month on bridging and development loans that improve a property’s EPC rating. Its ceiling of £100,000,000 is four times Avamore’s, backed by Octopus Group’s institutional funding lines.
Rates and amounts: residential bridging from 0.55% per month, commercial bridging from 0.85% per month, with no ceiling rate published; a discount of up to 0.15% per month is available on loans that improve a property’s EPC rating; £50,000 to £100,000,000, with a £1,000,000 minimum on commercial bridging.
Eligibility: no minimum trading history or turnover published; lending is assessed against the security property, the scheme and the exit strategy, and newly formed special purpose vehicles are commonly used.
Timeline: no fixed timeframe is published; timescales are confirmed once a case is submitted.
Regulatory status: Octopus Investments Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 194779. Residential bridging secured on a property the borrower lives in or intends to live in is offered on a regulated basis; commercial bridging, development finance and buy-to-let mortgages for investment purposes are unregulated.
Beats Avamore on: regulated bridging, maximum loan size and the EPC discount. The £1,000,000 minimum on commercial bridging is four times Avamore’s floor, so small commercial cases are worse off here, and no rate ceiling or turnaround time is published.
HTB is a full UK deposit-taking bank that targets bridging completions within 21 days, backed by dual legal representation to keep the legal work moving, and it charges no early repayment charges on bridging. That combination matters on a bridge, where the whole point is to exit quickly and an ERC penalises you for doing exactly that. Its per-customer ceiling was recently raised to £35,000,000 across bridging, specialist mortgages and development finance, and it publishes no minimum loan size, so smaller cases can at least be discussed.
Rates and amounts: rates are not published for direct comparison and are provided via rate cards issued to registered brokers through the PUMA intermediary portal; no minimum loan size published, maximum £35,000,000.
Eligibility: no minimum published; HTB lends only through registered intermediaries and assesses each case individually.
Timeline: bridging completions targeted within 21 days.
Regulatory status: Hampshire Trust Bank Plc is a full UK bank, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the Financial Conduct Authority and the PRA, firm reference number 204601. Customer deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Beats Avamore on: no early repayment charges, a stated completion target and bank status. You cannot apply directly, and with no published rates you cannot compare cost until a broker pulls a rate card.
LendInvest publishes the lowest bridging rate floor on this panel at 0.54% per month, and unlike Avamore it does not add Bank of England Base Rate on top, so the quoted figure is the figure. It is an AIM-listed, technology-driven lender with a £75,000 minimum, credit decisions in 24 to 48 hours and legal completion in 2 to 4 weeks, and it covers bridging, development finance and commercial mortgages up to £15,000,000.
Rates and amounts: 0.54% to 1.2% per month on bridging, development finance from 7% per annum; £75,000 to £15,000,000.
Eligibility: no trading history required for property-backed lending; no turnover requirement, though development finance requires demonstrable developer experience.
Timeline: credit decision within 24 to 48 hours; legal completion 2 to 4 weeks.
Regulatory status: Lendus has not independently verified LendInvest’s regulatory position from a primary source, so no FCA claim is made here. Check LendInvest on the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before committing.
Beats Avamore on: published rate floor with no base rate uplift, and a £75,000 minimum. Arrangement and exit fees can add meaningfully to total cost, and its £15,000,000 ceiling is well below Avamore’s £25,000,000.
| Lender | Amount | Monthly rate | Regulated bridging | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avamore Capital | £250,000 to £25,000,000 | From 0.56% plus BBR | No | Bridging 3 to 4 days |
| West One Loans | £50,000 to £20,000,000 | 0.55% to 1.3% | Yes | Decision within 24 hours |
| Shawbrook Bank | £50,000 to £25,000,000 | 0.55% to 1.25% | Not stated | Terms within 24 hours |
| Together | £50,000 to £25,000,000 | 0.55% to 1.5% | Not stated | Terms within 24 hours |
| Precise Mortgages | £75,000 to £15,000,000 | 0.59% to 1.3% | Not stated | Decision within 48 hours |
| Octopus Real Estate | £50,000 to £100,000,000 | From 0.55% residential | Yes, on own home | Not published |
| Hampshire Trust Bank | No minimum published, to £35,000,000 | Broker rate cards only | Not stated | 21 day completion target |
| LendInvest | £75,000 to £15,000,000 | 0.54% to 1.2% | Not stated | Decision 24 to 48 hours |
A rate quoted over Bank of England Base Rate is not comparable with a flat monthly rate until you add the prevailing base rate to it.
Choose West One Loans if your loan is under £250,000, or if the security is a home you live in and you need a regulated bridge.
Choose Shawbrook if you want a licensed bank, a published maximum rate and the same £25,000,000 ceiling Avamore offers.
Choose Together if the property is non-standard or there is adverse credit in the file that a scheme-led underwriter will not get past.
Choose Precise Mortgages if you are a portfolio landlord with 4 or more properties, or the asset is an HMO or multi-unit freehold block.
Choose Octopus Real Estate if you need regulated bridging on your own home, or an EPC improvement makes the 0.15% per month discount real money on your case.
Choose Hampshire Trust Bank if the exit date is uncertain and the absence of early repayment charges is worth more to you than a published rate.
Choose LendInvest if you want the lowest published monthly rate on the panel with no base rate uplift and your loan is between £75,000 and £15,000,000.
One thing to check on every quote, and it is where bridging costs actually differ. The monthly rate is only part of the price. Arrangement fees, exit fees, legal costs and whether interest is retained, rolled up or serviced can move the total cost of a 12 month bridge by several thousand pounds on the same headline rate. Ask each lender for the total cost of credit over the term you actually expect to hold the loan, and ask specifically whether an early repayment charge applies, since Hampshire Trust Bank charges none on bridging and not every lender here can say the same.
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