Written by the Lendus editorial team. Last updated .
The best Together alternatives include West One Loans for faster completion and second charge bridging, Shawbrook Bank for a lower rate ceiling, Octopus Real Estate for large development finance, Precise Mortgages for portfolio landlords, LendInvest for the lowest published monthly rate, Hampshire Trust Bank for a 21 day completion target, and Recognise Bank for property-secured lending above £250,000.
Together has been lending since 1974, has £7 billion out, and has helped more than 80,000 customers. It is the specialist lender brokers reach for when a property does not fit a template: unusual construction, mixed use, short lease, a borrower with a county court judgment, an income that a mainstream underwriter’s model cannot read. Its record is explicit that this is the proposition, and that adverse credit and non-standard income are considered case by case.
That flexibility has a price, and the price is the reason most people look elsewhere.
Together’s bridging rates run 0.55% to 1.5% per month. The floor is competitive with everyone. The ceiling is the highest of any specialist property lender on the Lendus panel, and complex cases are exactly the ones that get priced towards the ceiling. Its own record lists higher rates than mainstream commercial mortgages among the drawbacks, alongside arrangement fees and legal costs adding to the total.
The second reason is time. Together gives indicative terms within 24 hours but quotes completion at 2 to 4 weeks. If you are buying at auction with a 28 day deadline, the top of that range is uncomfortably close to the line.
The third is structure. Together is a property lender. Its record states it is not suitable for unsecured working capital or business loans, so if you have no property to secure against, none of this applies to you and you should be looking at business lenders instead.
Below are seven property lenders that beat Together on at least one of those dimensions.
West One Loans lends £50,000 to £20,000,000 on first and second charge bridging, regulated and unregulated, plus specialist buy-to-let. It gives a credit decision within 24 hours and completes in 2 to 3 weeks, a week faster at the top end than Together, and its rate ceiling is 1.3% per month against Together’s 1.5%. Second charge bridging, lending behind an existing mortgage, is the capability most competitors do not offer. West One Secured Loans Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 776026.
Rates and amounts: 0.55% to 1.3% per month on bridging; buy-to-let mortgages from 5.8% per annum. £50,000 to £20,000,000. Its representative example is £400,000 over 12 months with £456,000 total repayable, a cost of credit of £56,000, at 11.2% APR representative.
Eligibility: No trading history required for property-backed bridging; no minimum turnover. Adverse credit considered case by case.
Pros: Second charge bridging; 24 hour credit decisions; 2 to 3 week completion; both regulated and unregulated bridging; lower rate ceiling than Together.
Cons: Primarily intermediary-only, so best accessed through a broker; £20,000,000 ceiling is below Together’s £25,000,000; development finance is limited compared with dedicated development lenders.
Best for: Borrowers who need to complete quickly, and anyone who needs to raise money behind an existing first charge rather than refinance it.
Shawbrook matches Together’s £25,000,000 maximum and starts at the same £50,000, but its published bridging range stops at 1.25% per month rather than 1.5%. On a large twelve month bridge that quarter point is real money. Shawbrook also writes unsecured business loans, which Together does not. Shawbrook Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the PRA, firm reference number 204574, and has lent £9 billion.
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 or more months trading preferred, none required for property-backed bridging; no turnover minimum for property finance, £200,000 or more for unsecured business loans.
Pros: Identical amount range to Together with a lower rate ceiling; indicative terms within 24 hours; PRA-authorised bank; strong on complex portfolios, HMO and semi-commercial assets.
Cons: Completion typically 2 to 4 weeks, no faster than Together; severe adverse credit across all products is a problem; no development finance product.
Best for: Complex portfolio and semi-commercial cases where Together would say yes but a regulated bank at a lower ceiling would say yes too.
Octopus Real Estate lends £50,000 to £100,000,000, four times Together’s ceiling, and is built for large development schemes between £5 million and £100 million as well as commercial bridging from £1 million. It prices residential bridging from 0.55% per month and commercial bridging from 0.85% per month, and offers a rate discount of up to 0.15% per month on bridging and development loans that improve a property’s EPC rating. Octopus Investments Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 194779.
Rates and amounts: From 0.55% per month residential bridging, from 0.85% per month commercial bridging, with no published ceiling rate; development and refurbishment rates are not published. £50,000 to £100,000,000.
Eligibility: No minimum trading history published, and newly formed special purpose vehicles are commonly used; no minimum turnover, as lending is asset-backed.
Pros: By far the largest ceiling here; a genuine EPC-linked rate discount of up to 0.15% per month; institutional funding behind it; regulated residential bridging available.
Cons: No ceiling rate published, so the top of the range is unknown until you have terms; commercial bridging has a £1 million minimum; no fixed completion timeframe published.
Best for: Developers running schemes past £5 million, and anyone whose refurbishment will lift an EPC rating enough to earn the discount.
Precise Mortgages is the specialist for landlords with four or more properties, HMO investors and self-employed borrowers whose income does not fit a standard affordability model. Its bridging runs 0.59% to 1.3% per month with commercial and buy-to-let mortgages from 5.5% per annum, and it gives a credit decision within 48 hours. 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.
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 minimum turnover, as lending is property and income backed.
Pros: Purpose-built criteria for portfolio landlords with 4 or more properties and HMOs; lower rate ceiling than Together at 1.3% per month; specialist underwriting on complex self-employed income.
Cons: Nothing below £75,000; completion typically 3 to 4 weeks, slower than West One; not suitable for very severe adverse credit across all credit types; bridging only, no development finance.
Best for: Portfolio landlords and HMO investors who need a bridge now and a buy-to-let exit later from a lender that understands both.
LendInvest publishes the lowest bridging entry rate of any lender in this guide at 0.54% per month, with a 1.2% ceiling that undercuts Together by 0.3 percentage points a month. It also runs development finance from 7% per annum and gives a credit decision in 24 to 48 hours. Lendus has not completed identity verification on this record, so we make no claim about its regulatory status here; confirm it on the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before proceeding.
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 minimum turnover, as lending is property and project backed.
Pros: Lowest published floor and the second lowest ceiling here; development finance with a published annual rate, which is rare; 24 to 48 hour credit decisions; £5 billion+ lent.
Cons: Nothing below £75,000; its record notes it is not aimed at first-time developers or borrowers with severe adverse credit, which is precisely Together’s territory; legal completion 2 to 4 weeks.
Best for: Experienced developers and professional landlords with clean credit and a clear exit, who are paying a complexity premium at Together that they do not need to pay.
Hampshire Trust Bank is the only lender here that publishes a completion target rather than a range: it aims for 21 days from application to completion on bridging, supported by dual legal representation, which typically removes a week of solicitor ping-pong. It lends up to £35,000,000, above Together’s ceiling. Hampshire Trust Bank Plc is a full UK bank, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the PRA, firm reference number 204601, and lent over £3.5 billion to UK businesses and individuals in 2024.
Rates and amounts: No published rates. Pricing is provided through rate cards issued to registered brokers via HTB’s PUMA intermediary portal. Up to £35,000,000, with no published minimum.
Eligibility: No minimum trading history or turnover published; every case is assessed individually through a registered intermediary.
Pros: A stated 21 day completion target on bridging; dual legal representation; £35,000,000 ceiling; full UK bank with FSCS protection on deposits.
Cons: Broker-only, you cannot apply direct; no published rates at all, so no comparison is possible until a broker pulls a rate card; no published minimum loan size.
Best for: Time-critical purchases where a 21 day target beats an unpriced two to four week range, and you already work with a broker registered on PUMA.
Recognise Bank lends £250,000 to £10,000,000 on business bridging and commercial mortgages, and publishes its starting rates precisely: from 0.79% per month on residential security or 0.84% per month on commercial security, with a commercial mortgage Standard Variable Rate currently 9.50% per annum. It aims to make initial contact within 24 hours and provide indicative terms within 48 hours. Recognise Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the PRA, firm reference number 849404.
Rates and amounts: From 0.79% per month on residential security, from 0.84% per month on commercial security; commercial mortgage Standard Variable Rate 9.50% per annum, fixed rates individually assessed. £250,000 to £10,000,000. Monthly rates are not APRs.
Eligibility: 2 or more years trading; turnover not published, assessed individually per application.
Pros: Separately published rates for residential and commercial security, which most bridging lenders do not break out; indicative terms within 48 hours; SIPP lending catered for; PRA-authorised bank.
Cons: 2 year trading requirement, unlike the property-only lenders here; nothing below £250,000; a higher starting rate than the 0.55% cohort; no final funds-release timescale published.
Best for: Established trading businesses and SIPPs buying commercial property, where a two year record is no obstacle and a published starting rate is worth more than the lowest possible floor.
| Lender | Amount range | Bridging rate (per month) | Completion | Development finance | Adverse credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West One Loans | £50,000 to £20,000,000 | 0.55% to 1.3% | 2 to 3 weeks | Limited | Case by case |
| Shawbrook Bank | £50,000 to £25,000,000 | 0.55% to 1.25% | 2 to 4 weeks | No | Not if severe |
| Octopus Real Estate | £50,000 to £100,000,000 | From 0.55%, no ceiling published | Not published | Yes, £5m to £100m | Not published |
| Precise Mortgages | £75,000 to £15,000,000 | 0.59% to 1.3% | 3 to 4 weeks | No | Not if very severe |
| LendInvest | £75,000 to £15,000,000 | 0.54% to 1.2% | 2 to 4 weeks | Yes, from 7% per annum | Not if severe |
| Hampshire Trust Bank | Up to £35,000,000 | Broker rate card only | 21 day target | Yes | Case by case |
| Recognise Bank | £250,000 to £10,000,000 | From 0.79% residential security | Not published | No | Not published |
| Together | £50,000 to £25,000,000 | 0.55% to 1.5% | 2 to 4 weeks | Yes | Case by case |
Choose West One Loans if you need to complete inside three weeks, or you need a second charge behind an existing mortgage.
Choose Shawbrook Bank if you want Together’s loan sizes with a rate ceiling a quarter of a point per month lower.
Choose Octopus Real Estate if the scheme is large, or the works will improve the EPC rating enough to earn up to 0.15% per month off.
Choose Precise Mortgages if you are a portfolio landlord with four or more properties or your income is genuinely complicated.
Choose LendInvest if you are an experienced developer with clean credit who does not need Together’s flexibility and should not be paying for it.
Choose Hampshire Trust Bank if the transaction has a hard date and a 21 day target with dual legal representation is worth going through a broker for.
Choose Recognise Bank if you are an established business or SIPP buying commercial property above £250,000.
One last thing that catches people out on every one of these. The monthly rate is not the cost. Together’s own representative example, £500,000 over 12 months with £570,000 total repayable, works out at £70,000 of credit cost against £33,000 of interest at the 0.55% headline. The gap is arrangement fees, valuation, legal costs and exit terms. Ask every lender for total repayable on your actual figures, and make sure your exit, whether a sale or a refinance, is deliverable inside the term. Lendus is an introducer, not a lender or a credit broker; we do not approve or decline anything. Confirm regulatory status on the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before you commit.
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