Written by the Lendus editorial team. Last updated .
The best CrowdProperty alternatives include Magnet Capital for first-time developers, Together for schemes from £50,000, LendInvest for a credit decision in 24 to 48 hours, Avamore Capital for less experienced developers and refurbishment, Octopus Real Estate for schemes to £100 million and an EPC rate discount, Hampshire Trust Bank for a bank balance sheet to £35 million, and Atelier for loans above CrowdProperty's £10 million ceiling.
CrowdProperty holds a 4.9 Trustpilot rating from over 320 reviews, the highest of any development finance provider on the Lendus panel, and its underwriting team is drawn from working property developers. For an experienced residential developer with a £1 million scheme, it is a strong first call.
It is also a narrow one. The minimum loan is £200,000, so small conversions and single-dwelling refurbishments do not get through the door. The clock runs long for short-term money: 48 hours to indicative terms, up to 2 weeks to a full credit decision, and first drawdown from 4 weeks. Arrangement fees run around 2% on top of the 0.65% to 1.1% monthly rate. It caps at £10 million, it does not do commercial development, and it states plainly that it is less suitable for first-time developers without a completed project behind them.
Every lender below carries development finance on its record. None of them is a bridging-only lender dressed up as a development lender, because that is a different product with a different drawdown structure.
Magnet Capital states that first-time developers can secure funding if the project itself is well structured, which is the direct opposite of CrowdProperty’s position. It also moves faster on the parts that matter to a live site: a decision in principle often within minutes of receiving key project information, and stage payments released within 48 hours of a site inspection.
Loan size and pricing: £500,000 to £4,000,000. No standard rate range is published. Interest is typically calculated on a rolled-up basis with an option to service monthly, and pricing is assessed per project and confirmed on application.
Eligibility: No minimum trading history and no published turnover requirement. Lending is assessed against the development project and the borrower’s plan.
Pros: Explicitly open to first-time developers; decision in principle often within minutes; stage payments within 48 hours of site inspection; ground-up, refurbishment and conversion finance; typical sign-up to completion of 6 to 10 weeks.
Cons: £500,000 minimum is more than double CrowdProperty’s £200,000; £4,000,000 ceiling is well below CrowdProperty’s £10,000,000; no published rates, so cost cannot be compared before application.
Best for: First and second-time developers with a well-structured scheme between £500,000 and £4,000,000 who need stage payments released quickly.
Magnet Capital Limited states on its own website that it is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 827220. The same site describes its ground-up development and refurbishment products as unregulated development finance for business-purpose projects, which is standard for UK commercial development lending. It is a member of the Bridging and Development Lenders Association.
Together lends from £50,000, a quarter of CrowdProperty’s £200,000 floor, and publishes a monthly rate range of 0.55% to 1.5%. It gives indicative terms within 24 hours against CrowdProperty’s 48, and completes in 2 to 4 weeks against a drawdown from 4 weeks.
Loan size and pricing: £50,000 to £25,000,000; 0.55% to 1.5% per month; 11.4% APR representative.
Eligibility: No trading history required for property-backed lending; no minimum turnover, with income and asset position reviewed.
Pros: £50,000 minimum, the joint lowest here; rate floor of 0.55% per month undercuts CrowdProperty’s 0.65%; indicative terms within 24 hours; ceiling of £25,000,000; strong on complex or non-standard properties that mainstream lenders decline.
Cons: The 1.5% monthly ceiling is above CrowdProperty’s 1.1%, so a difficult case will price higher; the product spread leans toward bridging and commercial mortgages rather than pure ground-up development.
Best for: Developers with schemes below £200,000, or with a property that a conventional development lender considers non-standard.
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.
LendInvest quotes a credit decision within 24 to 48 hours where CrowdProperty takes up to 2 weeks, and legal completion in 2 to 4 weeks where CrowdProperty’s first drawdown starts at 4 weeks. It lends from £75,000 and publishes development finance pricing from 7% per annum.
Loan size and pricing: £75,000 to £15,000,000; development finance from 7% per annum; bridging at 0.54% to 1.2% per month; 11.1% APR representative on bridging.
Eligibility: No trading history required for property-backed lending; no minimum turnover, since lending is property and project backed.
Pros: Credit decision within 24 to 48 hours; £75,000 minimum against CrowdProperty’s £200,000; £15,000,000 ceiling; technology-led process across bridging, development and commercial mortgages.
Cons: Its record notes it is not ideal for first-time developers or borrowers with severe adverse credit, so it does not solve CrowdProperty’s experience requirement; nothing below £75,000.
Best for: Experienced developers on residential and mixed-use schemes who want CrowdProperty’s product with a materially shorter decision window.
Lendus has not verified LendInvest’s regulatory status against a primary source, so no FCA claim is made for it here. Check the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before committing.
Avamore states that its development finance is available to less experienced developers, and that refurbishment finance is often approved within 24 hours. Bridging can typically be obtained within 3 to 4 days. It also fixes the base rate element for the life of the loan, which removes one variable from a project appraisal.
Loan size and pricing: £250,000 to £25,000,000. Bridging from 0.56% per month with the Bank of England Base Rate added to the Avamore rate and fixed for the life of the loan. Development finance is quoted separately from 6.75% per annum plus base rate. No maximum rate is published, as each loan is priced individually.
Eligibility: No minimum trading history or turnover published. Lending is assessed against the property, the scheme and the exit strategy.
Pros: Open to less experienced developers; refurbishment finance often approved within 24 hours; base rate element fixed for the life of the loan; funds ground-up, part-complete, refurbishment and student accommodation schemes; considers overseas residents and complex equity structures.
Cons: £250,000 minimum is above CrowdProperty’s £200,000; no maximum rate published, so the ceiling is unknown until you are quoted; lending is limited to schemes in mainland England and Wales.
Best for: Developers taking on refurbishment or part-complete schemes, and those without the completed-project record CrowdProperty wants.
Avamore Capital is not FCA-authorised. It states on its own website that it is a provider of unregulated loans to corporate entities and private individuals, and that any loans made to private individuals comply with the exemptions set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001. This is common for UK business and investment bridging and development finance and does not carry FCA-regulated consumer protections.
Octopus Real Estate lends up to £100,000,000, ten times CrowdProperty’s ceiling, and offers something no other lender here does: a rate discount of up to 0.15% per month on bridging and development loans that improve a property’s EPC rating. On a large scheme that is a genuine line in the appraisal.
Loan size and pricing: £50,000 to £100,000,000. Residential bridging from 0.55% per month, commercial bridging from 0.85% per month. No ceiling rate is published, so the final rate is assessed case by case. Development and refurbishment loan rates are not published.
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.
Pros: £100,000,000 ceiling; EPC rate discount of up to 0.15% per month; institutional funding behind the balance sheet; dedicated case team on large bridging and development loans; SPV structures accepted as standard.
Cons: Development and refurbishment rates are not published at all; its stated focus is development finance from £5,000,000 and commercial bridging from £1,000,000, so a £300,000 scheme is not the target; no fixed timeframe is published for completion.
Best for: Larger schemes, and any project where an EPC uplift is already part of the plan and can be turned into a rate reduction.
Octopus Investments Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 194779. Residential bridging loans secured on a property the borrower lives in or intends to live in are offered on a regulated basis. Commercial bridging, development finance and buy-to-let mortgages for investment purposes are provided on an unregulated basis, as is standard for UK business and investment property lending.
Hampshire Trust Bank is a full UK bank lending up to £35,000,000, and it targets 21 days from application to completion on bridging, supported by dual legal representation. Where CrowdProperty’s funding depends partly on investor appetite for a specific loan, HTB lends off a deposit-taking balance sheet.
Loan size and pricing: Up to £35,000,000. HTB does not publish rates for direct comparison. Bridging, development finance and specialist mortgage pricing is provided via rate cards issued to registered brokers through its PUMA intermediary portal. No minimum loan size is published.
Eligibility: No minimum trading history or turnover published. HTB lends only through registered intermediaries and assesses each case individually.
Pros: Full UK bank with FSCS-protected deposits behind it; £35,000,000 ceiling; 21 day bridging target with dual legal representation, which removes a common source of delay; handles complex and larger-scale cases.
Cons: Broker-only, so you cannot apply direct; no published rates at all, since pricing sits behind the intermediary portal; development finance timescales are assessed case by case rather than published.
Best for: Developers already working with a broker who want a regulated bank rather than a platform, on a scheme up to £35,000,000.
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.
CrowdProperty stops at £10,000,000. Atelier starts at £3,000,000 and runs to £40,000,000, and it prices transparently as Bank of England Base Rate plus a margin of 4.99% to 6.99% per annum, so you know how the rate is constructed even though the absolute figure moves with the base rate.
Loan size and pricing: £3,000,000 to £40,000,000; Bank of England Base Rate plus a margin of 4.99% to 6.99% per annum, varying by product, loan-to-value and loan size. Fees apply case by case.
Eligibility: No fixed number of years published. Atelier targets professional developers with a demonstrable track record of similar, completed developments.
Pros: £40,000,000 ceiling, four times CrowdProperty’s; published margin structure rather than a bespoke quote; direct access to decision-makers with a dedicated drawdown team for ongoing project drawdowns; covers residential, student accommodation, build-to-rent and care sectors, including asset classes CrowdProperty does not serve.
Cons: £3,000,000 minimum rules out most schemes CrowdProperty funds; requires a demonstrable track record, so it is stricter on experience than CrowdProperty rather than easier; no fixed turnaround time is published.
Best for: Professional developers with completed schemes behind them working above CrowdProperty’s £10,000,000 ceiling, particularly in student accommodation, build-to-rent or care.
Atelier Capital Partners Limited is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Its development and bridging loans are exempt agreements under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The firm is registered with and supervised by the FCA for anti-money laundering purposes only, under registration number 910090.
| Lender | Loan range | Development pricing | Experience required | Speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnet Capital | £500,000 to £4,000,000 | Not published, rolled-up basis | First-time developers accepted | Decision in principle often within minutes | First-time developers |
| Together | £50,000 to £25,000,000 | 0.55% to 1.5% per month | None required | Indicative terms within 24 hours | Small and non-standard schemes |
| LendInvest | £75,000 to £15,000,000 | From 7% per annum | Not ideal for first-timers | Credit decision 24 to 48 hours | Fast decisions |
| Avamore Capital | £250,000 to £25,000,000 | From 6.75% per annum plus base rate | Less experienced developers accepted | Refurbishment often approved within 24 hours | Refurbishment and part-complete |
| Octopus Real Estate | £50,000 to £100,000,000 | Not published | Not published, SPVs accepted | Not published | Large schemes and EPC uplift |
| Hampshire Trust Bank | Up to £35,000,000 | Broker rate cards only | Assessed case by case | Bridging targets 21 days | Bank balance sheet via a broker |
| Atelier | £3,000,000 to £40,000,000 | Base rate plus 4.99% to 6.99% per annum | Demonstrable track record | Not published | Larger schemes within its £3m to £40m range |
| CrowdProperty | £200,000 to £10,000,000 | 0.65% to 1.1% per month plus around 2% arrangement fee | Completed projects preferred | Credit decision within 2 weeks, drawdown from 4 weeks | Experienced residential developers |
Choose Magnet Capital if this is your first or second scheme and you need a lender that says so on the record rather than making you argue it.
Choose Together if the scheme is under £200,000, or the property is non-standard enough that a conventional development lender has already said no.
Choose LendInvest if you have the track record but cannot wait 2 weeks for a credit decision and 4 weeks for drawdown.
Choose Avamore Capital if the project is a refurbishment or a part-complete site, and you want the base rate element fixed for the life of the loan.
Choose Octopus Real Estate if the scheme is large, or if an EPC improvement is already in the plan and can be converted into up to 0.15% per month off the rate.
Choose Hampshire Trust Bank if you work through a broker and want a deposit-taking bank behind the facility rather than a lending platform.
Choose Atelier if the scheme is above CrowdProperty’s £10,000,000 ceiling, or sits in student accommodation, build-to-rent or care.
Two things to check before you sign anywhere. First, arrangement fees: CrowdProperty’s are typically around 2% of the loan, and several lenders here apply fees on a case-by-case basis that are not in the headline rate. Second, the drawdown mechanism, because on a live site the speed of stage payments after a monitoring surveyor’s visit matters more than the monthly rate.
Lendus is an introducer, not a lender or a credit broker. We do not approve, decline or price any facility. Most UK development finance is unregulated business lending, so check each lender’s status at register.fca.org.uk and read the facility agreement, including the minimum interest period, before you commit.
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