International Bridging Loans

International Bridging Loans: €500,000 to €500m+ for Developers and Institutions

Page last reviewed: October 2026.

International bridging loans provide short-term, asset-backed finance against commercial and residential investment property, development sites and portfolios, repaid on sale or refinance. We arrange facilities from €500,000 up to €500m+ in Ireland, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and France, for developers, institutional investors, funds, family offices and corporate borrowers. Requirements above that level can be arranged as syndicated lending with multiple lenders, on request. Local sponsors and overseas sponsors are equally welcome.

To be clear about scope: this is unregulated commercial lending. It is not bridging finance for buying a home to live in. For property in other markets, including Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, the US, Canada and the Bahamas, see our wider international bridging loans page, and for schemes that need build funding see our international development finance overview.

International Bridging Loans at a Glance

Who We Arrange International Bridging For

• Developers who need to secure a site, buy out a partner or refinance a scheme quickly, in their home market or abroad.
• Institutional investors and funds acquiring assets or portfolios on a timetable that a term lender cannot meet.
• Family offices deploying capital across several European markets and wanting one adviser coordinating the lender approach.
• Corporate borrowers raising liquidity against property they already own.
• Joint ventures between local and overseas partners, where the structure has to satisfy lenders in both worlds.

When International Bridging Is Used

• Time-critical acquisitions: completing before a term loan, a sale of another asset or investor capital arrives.
• Land and pre-planning sites: securing a site while planning, permits or development funding are being arranged.
• Refinancing a maturing loan: bridging the gap when an existing facility reaches maturity and the replacement is not yet in place.
• Stabilisation and exit: funding a completed or part-let asset until it is sold or refinanced onto a long-term facility.
• Portfolio and platform deals: acquiring several assets at once, sometimes through a syndicate of lenders.
• Recapitalisation and equity release: raising capital against unencumbered property for investment elsewhere.

Asset Classes We Bridge Against

International lenders look at asset quality, liquidity and the exit, so the right lender depends on the asset class as much as the country.

• Residential blocks and portfolios: multi-unit residential for sale or rent, including build-to-rent, student housing, co-living and senior living.
• Commercial: offices, retail and mixed-use buildings with identifiable tenants or clear repositioning plans.
• Industrial and logistics: warehouses, distribution centres and light industrial units.
• Hotels, leisure and holiday parks: operational and repositioning assets, usually backed by an operator.
• Development sites and part-built schemes: land with or without planning, and projects that need completing.

Countries We Cover

Each market has its own borrower vehicle, security and legal process, and each has its own page with the detail.

Major Cities We Cover Across Europe

Lenders assess the asset, the title and the exit rather than a fixed list of places, but these are the cities and regions where most bridging enquiries come from.

• Ireland: Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and the Dublin commuter belt. See Ireland bridging loans.
• Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao, Málaga, Marbella, Alicante, Palma, Ibiza and the islands. See Spain bridging loans.
• Italy: Milan, Rome, Turin, Bologna, Florence, Naples, Venice, Lake Como, Lake Garda and Tuscany. See Italy bridging loans.
• Germany: Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and other major cities. See Germany bridging loans.
• Netherlands: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Eindhoven and the wider Randstad. See Netherlands bridging loans.
• France: Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Nice, Cannes, the Alps and other regional markets. See France bridging loans.

How This Differs From UK Bridging and From Home-Mover Bridging

Search results for bridging loans in continental Europe are full of home-mover products, such as the Dutch overbruggingskrediet or the French prêt relais, where a bank lends against a family home until it sells. Those are regulated consumer products and are not what this page covers. Our international bridging is commercial lending to companies and professional investors against investment, commercial or development property.

It also differs from UK bridging in ways that affect how a deal is arranged.

• The product is narrower. Short-term, exit-led lending of the kind common in the UK is largely supplied by international and private lenders rather than domestic banks, so fewer lenders compete for each deal.
• Corporate structures are the norm. Lenders prefer to lend to a local company that holds the asset, with security taken at property and share level.
• Minimum sizes are higher, because cross-border legal work and local security do not scale down. That is why our facilities start at €500,000 and are aimed at the commercial end of the market.
• Legal processes run through notaries and local registries, each with its own timetable.
• Gearing is usually lower. Cross-border security is sized more conservatively than an equivalent UK bridge.

Scale and Syndicated Lending

Most of our international bridging sits between €500,000 and the low hundreds of millions, funded by a single lender. Above that, no single lender may want the whole exposure, so we arrange syndicated lending with multiple lenders on request. In a syndicate, several lenders share one facility under common terms, with one agent coordinating the documentation and a single security package held for all of them.

Syndication usually means a longer timetable, more detailed due diligence and more documentation, and it suits larger portfolios, platform acquisitions and institutional-scale refinancings. If your requirement is at that level, tell us early, because the structure shapes how the process is run from the start.

Valuation and the Lender’s Figure

Valuation practice is national, and lenders apply their percentage to whichever figure their own rules require, which is often not the headline market value in a report. Some markets work from a conservative lending value that sits below market value, and lenders also look at the value on a quicker sale, not only on an orderly one.

On cross-border deals the valuation is often the longest single item in the timetable, so it belongs in the programme from day one. A lender will instruct its own approved valuer, and build a margin into your own numbers, because a figure that looks comfortable in your appraisal can come back tighter against the lender’s.

Structuring Across Borders

The borrower is normally a local company that owns the asset. Behind it can sit a holding company in another jurisdiction, a fund, a family office or individual shareholders, provided the ownership chain and source of funds are fully documented.

• Security at two levels: a first-ranking charge or mortgage over the property, and a pledge over the shares in the borrower.
• Guarantees from the sponsor or a related group company, sometimes limited to specific risks.
• Controlled accounts for rents, sales proceeds and the repayment waterfall.
• Ownership and source-of-funds checks on every shareholder and beneficial owner.
• Local legal and tax advice, which we recommend in every country.

Exit Strategies Lenders Accept

A bridge is only as strong as its exit, and lenders will test it hard. The routes that work best are:

• Sale of the asset or units, evidenced by agent appraisals, comparable transactions or signed contracts.
• Refinance onto term finance with a bank or institutional lender, evidenced by indicative terms or a realistic route given the asset’s income.
• Institutional take-out or forward sale, particularly for residential blocks, logistics and operational assets.
• Development finance, where the bridge secures a site that will then be funded for construction. See our international development finance overview.

Currency and Timeline

Facilities are normally in euro, matching the asset’s value and income. If your equity or exit proceeds sit in another currency, exchange rates can move the economics more than the margin does, so currency is worth discussing with your own advisers and a specialist provider. We do not give currency or tax advice.

Allow around four to twelve weeks from a complete summary to completion on most cross-border deals, depending on valuation, legal work and notarial steps. Syndicated facilities take longer.

Costs, Rates and Terms

Pricing varies with the lender, the asset, the country, the leverage and the exit, and is usually quoted per month. As a general guide only:

• Interest: for strong assets and sponsors, monthly pricing often starts at around 0.9% a month, rising for higher gearing, secondary assets or less certain exits. Interest is usually retained or rolled up.
• Arrangement fee: typically around 1% to 2% of the facility, with some lenders also charging an exit fee.
• Third-party costs: valuation, legal fees on both sides, and notary and registration costs, usually payable whether or not the loan completes.
• Early repayment: many lenders do not charge for early repayment, though interest may be minimum-period.

Any figures we give for your deal will come from live lender feedback, not from this page.

From First Call to Completion

1. Initial summary. You send us the asset, the location, the borrowing entity, the amount, the term and the exit.
2. Lender approach. We approach lenders whose appetite matches the asset and country, and tell you early if the deal looks hard to place. With a complete summary, indicative terms can often come back within days.
3. Heads of terms and due diligence. The lender instructs a valuer, and its local lawyers review title, structure and the exit.
4. Credit approval and documentation. The facility, security and guarantees are agreed and signed, usually before a notary or through local solicitors.
5. Conditions and completion. Security is registered, any equity is in place and funds are released.

What Lenders Look For

• A quality asset in a liquid location, with clean title and no unresolved planning or registration issues.
• A credible exit, with independent evidence behind it.
• A capable sponsor with relevant experience, or an experienced local team alongside.
• Clean ownership and documented source of funds.
• Sensible gearing, with equity or additional security where the numbers need it.

Common Reasons International Bridges Stall

• Title or registration issues that surface late in due diligence.
• An exit that is hoped for rather than evidenced.
• Incomplete ownership paperwork. Overseas structures take longer to verify.
• Valuation shortfalls against the lender’s figure.
• No local advice at the start of the process.

Related Finance Pages

This page is part of our international property finance section. Depending on your plans, these pages may also help: international bridging loans for the wider range of markets, international development finance, large bridging loans in the UK and development exit finance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are international bridging loans?
Short-term loans secured against property outside your home market, repaid on sale or refinance. Ours are commercial facilities to companies and professional investors, not consumer home-mover loans.

Which countries do you cover?
Ireland, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and France, each with its own page. For other markets see our wider international bridging loans page, or tell us about the asset.

What is the minimum loan size?
We arrange international bridging facilities from €500,000.

What is the maximum?
We arrange facilities up to €500m+. Larger requirements can be arranged as syndicated lending with multiple lenders, on request.

Is this only for overseas borrowers?
No. Local sponsors and overseas sponsors are equally welcome. Local developers and investors use specialist lenders when they need more speed, leverage or flexibility than a bank will give.

Can I use it to buy a home to live in?
No. This is commercial lending for companies, SPVs and professional investors, secured on investment, commercial or development property.

Do I need a local company?
Usually, yes. Lenders prefer to lend to a local company that owns the asset, which can be owned locally or from overseas.

How much can I borrow against the property?
Typically 50% to 65% of value, up to around 70% for strong assets and sponsors. The right figure depends on the asset, the country and the exit.

How long is the term?
Typically 3 to 24 months, with some lenders offering extension options.

Is interest paid monthly?
Usually it is retained from the facility or rolled up, though some lenders accept serviced interest.

How fast can it complete?
Allow around four to twelve weeks on most cross-border deals, depending on valuation and legal work. Syndicated facilities take longer.

What exits do lenders accept?
Sale, refinance onto term finance, an institutional take-out or forward sale, or development finance following the bridge.

Can I borrow in a currency other than euro?
Facilities are normally in euro. Any currency hedging is a matter to discuss with your own advisers.

Will I need to give a guarantee?
Lenders commonly ask for a guarantee from the sponsor or a group company. Terms vary by lender and deal.

What if my requirement is below €500,000?
Tell us about it and we will advise honestly on what is realistic.

How is the broker paid?
How we are paid, and any fees, are confirmed to you in writing before you proceed.

Is this regulated lending?
No. This is unregulated lending, arranged for business purposes, so it is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Tell us about the asset, the location, the borrowing structure and the exit, and we will tell you which market and which lenders are likely to fit.