LendInvest

LendInvest is one of the UK's most prominent PropTech (property technology) lending platforms, combining sophisticated technology with deep property finance expertise to deliver fast, reliable funding for property professionals. Founded in 2013 by Christian Sherwood and Ian Thomas, LendInvest was among the first UK lenders to fully embrace technology as a means of transforming the speed and efficiency of property lending. The company listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market in 2021, providing additional capital resources and the governance framework of a publicly listed company.

LendInvest's origins lie in bridging finance, and this remains one of its core strengths. The company identified early that the traditional approach to short-term property lending — involving manual processes, paper-based documentation, and slow decision-making — was fundamentally at odds with the time-sensitive nature of bridging transactions. By building a purpose-designed technology platform that automates data gathering, credit assessment, and process management, LendInvest dramatically reduced the time from enquiry to completion, establishing a new standard for speed in UK bridging finance.

The company's bridging finance proposition provides short-term loans from £75,000 to £15 million, with terms of up to 24 months and loan-to-value ratios of up to 75%. LendInvest's bridging products cover the full range of short-term property funding scenarios: acquisition bridging for time-sensitive purchases, refurbishment bridging for renovation and repositioning projects, auction finance for the 28-day completion window, chain-break finance for borrowers caught between transactions, and equity release bridging for quick access to capital tied up in existing property. The company's technology platform enables decisions in principle within hours and completions in as little as five to ten working days for straightforward cases — performance that has set industry benchmarks for bridging finance speed.

LendInvest's development finance division provides facilities for residential and mixed-use development projects, from small conversions to larger new-build schemes. Development finance facilities range from £150,000 to £30 million, covering land acquisition, construction costs, professional fees, and associated expenses. The company offers gross development value lending of up to 70% and loan-to-cost ratios of up to 85%, with facilities structured to provide staged drawdowns against a monitored build programme.

The development finance team combines property development expertise with the technology-enabled efficiency that characterises all of LendInvest's operations. The company's monitoring systems provide real-time visibility of build progress, enabling faster drawdown decisions and reducing the administrative burden on developers. For smaller schemes, LendInvest has developed streamlined products with simplified monitoring requirements, recognising that the overhead of full institutional-grade monitoring is disproportionate for smaller projects.

LendInvest's technology platform is central to its competitive advantage. The company has invested significantly in building proprietary systems that automate many of the time-consuming processes in property lending — from initial credit screening and property valuation analysis to documentation management and legal process coordination. This technology investment has two primary benefits for borrowers: speed (by eliminating manual bottlenecks that cause delays) and consistency (by ensuring that every application follows the same efficient process regardless of complexity).

The company's approach to credit assessment combines automated analysis with experienced human oversight. LendInvest's technology platform rapidly processes financial and property data to provide initial risk assessments, which are then reviewed by experienced underwriters who apply their professional judgement to the overall case. This hybrid approach delivers the speed of automated processing with the nuance and flexibility of human decision-making — a combination that is particularly valuable in property lending, where standardised data often fails to capture the full picture of a transaction's merits.

LendInvest finances residential and commercial properties through its bridging division, with the company's strongest expertise in residential investment properties, mixed-use assets, and development sites. For development finance, the focus is on residential-led and mixed-use schemes where the completed units will be sold or retained as rental properties. The company's property assessment draws on extensive market data and valuation analysis, supplemented by the development team's practical understanding of construction processes and property markets.

The company lends to individuals, limited companies, SPVs, and LLPs, providing flexibility in borrower structure. For bridging finance, LendInvest can accommodate a wide range of borrower profiles, with the primary focus being on the quality of the property security and the viability of the exit strategy. For development finance, the company requires developers to demonstrate relevant experience proportionate to the proposed scheme, with the level of track record expected increasing with scheme size and complexity.

LendInvest's typical interest rates for bridging finance start from around 0.50% per month, with arrangement fees of 1.5% to 2%. Development finance rates are structured as a margin over Base Rate or a fixed facility rate, with arrangement fees typically of 1.5% to 2%. While LendInvest's pricing is competitive for the specialist bridging and development market, the primary competitive advantage is speed and reliability of execution rather than being the absolute cheapest option. For borrowers in time-sensitive situations, the certainty of fast completion is often worth significantly more than a marginal rate saving.

The application process with LendInvest leverages the company's technology platform for maximum efficiency. Bridging enquiries are assessed rapidly, with decisions in principle often available within hours. The company's online portal enables brokers to submit and track cases digitally, with real-time visibility of application status and requirements. For development finance, the team reviews enquiries within 48 hours and provides detailed indicative terms once the key project parameters have been assessed. Throughout the process, dedicated relationship managers provide personal support alongside the digital platform.

LendInvest is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market, providing transparency and governance standards that give borrowers and brokers confidence in the company's operations and financial stability. The company has funded over £5 billion in property loans since inception, demonstrating substantial market presence and operational track record.

For Commercial Mortgage Broker clients, LendInvest is a top recommendation for bridging finance and development funding where speed of execution is a priority. The company's technology-driven approach delivers completion speeds that few competitors can match, while its experienced team ensures that fast processing does not come at the expense of sound lending decisions. Our relationship with LendInvest's team enables us to access the platform's fastest processing routes and negotiate competitive terms for our clients' transactions.