Southwark
Bridging loans in
Southwark
Last updated
30-second answer: Southwark's average private rent was £2,516 a month in September 2026, up 7.3% on a year, against a London average of £2,338 (ONS). We arrange bridging loans for Southwark auction lots, terrace refurbishments, HMOs, conversions and finished schemes. Check the planning and licensing position of the address before you bid.
Bridging rates start from 0.50% a month (standard bridging: first charge, under 50% loan-to-value, straightforward cases), as at 29 October 2026. Our completed deals averaged around 0.85% a month over the 12 months to October 2026, mostly complex cases. We typically complete in 5 to 7 working days.
Southwark in numbers
- Price. The Land Registry average is £569,160 for August 2026. ONS has it at £569,000, provisional, against a London average of £554,000. Both show a 2.1% fall on August 2025.
- London comparison. Southwark sits about £15,000 above the London average.
- Rent. ONS puts the average private rent at £2,516 a month in September 2026. That is up 7.3% on a year, against 3.5% for London, where the average is £2,338.
- Caution. ONS says local figures rest on fewer sales and lets than national ones, so look at a year or longer. A borough average also hides the gap between one street and the next.
Sources: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, August 2026; ONS, Housing prices in Southwark and Private rents in Southwark, August and September 2026.
What shapes a Southwark deal
The Old Kent Road plan. Southwark Council's Old Kent Road Area Action Plan aims for around 20,000 homes and 10,000 jobs over 20 years. The council sent it to the Planning Inspectorate, and hearings were listed for June 2026. The Inspector will recommend whether it can be adopted. Treat the plan as a direction of travel. A site's own planning permission is what a valuer and a lender will look at.
Conservation areas. Southwark Council publishes a list of them. It includes Bermondsey Street, Borough High Street, Tooley Street, Rye Lane Peckham, Camberwell Grove and Dulwich Village. Look up the address before you price works to windows, roofs or frontages.
Planning limits on conversions. Southwark Council lists Article 4 directions, including one on change of use from commercial (Class E) to residential in the Central Activities Zone, railway arches, town centres and other designated areas. If your plan is shop, office or workshop to flats, ask the council whether a direction applies to that address first.
Licensing. Southwark runs an additional licensing scheme for HMOs that national rules do not cover, such as a house let to up to four people sharing a kitchen or bathroom. It also has selective licensing. Ask the council which licence your address needs before you buy to let.
What we are asked to bridge in Southwark
| Situation | How a bridge fits | What matters most |
|---|---|---|
| Auction lot, flat or terrace | Funds the purchase inside the auction deadline. See auction purchase. | The valuation, the legal pack, the lease, how you repay |
| Period terrace needing full refurbishment | Buys the house and, where agreed, funds the works. See refurbishment finance. | Works budget, programme, value after works, any conservation area limits |
| House bought as an HMO or split into flats | Funds the purchase and conversion, then you refinance onto a term loan. See HMO finance. | Licence position, planning status, rent evidence, the refinance route |
| Warehouse or industrial building for conversion | Holds the building while planning is sought and works are done. | Whether permission is granted or only hoped for, build costs, end values, the exit |
| Office, shop or mixed-use building | Buys or refinances while you re-let, refit or reposition. See commercial bridging. | Tenants and lease terms, vacancy, title, the exit buyer or lender |
| Finished scheme waiting to sell or refinance | Repays a development loan while you sell units or refinance. Priced case by case. See development exit. | Sales evidence, completion certificates, the time you need |
Before you bid or exchange: Southwark checklist
- Is the address in a conservation area? Check the council's list and map.
- Does an Article 4 direction cover it? Ask the planning team.
- Is a change of use planned? Confirm permission is granted, not just expected.
- Will it be an HMO or let under a licence? Ask the council which licence applies.
- Is it a flat? Read the lease length, ground rent and service charge first.
- Is the valuation instructed and the AIP in place before auction day?
- Have you checked sold prices on your own street, not the borough average?
- Do you know how you repay, with a date and a fallback?
Questions investors ask us about Southwark
Can you fund a Southwark auction purchase in time?
Do you finance warehouse conversions?
Does the Old Kent Road plan help my bridge?
Does a conservation area affect the bridge?
What does a Southwark bridge cost?
Do you cover the whole borough?
Nearby
Working next door? See Lambeth or bridging loans in London.
Tell us about your Southwark deal
Tell us the property, the price, the work you plan and how you intend to repay. It is a confidential, no-obligation chat.
We arrange unregulated business and investment loans, for business or investment purposes only - never secured on a home you or your family live in. A loan on such a home is regulated lending and belongs with an FCA-authorised mortgage adviser. Funding Developers Limited is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.