Property type: Leisure
Leisure Property Bridging Loans Devon
We arrange bridging finance against leisure property across the Torquay seafront, the South Hams coastal belt, the North Devon surf coast, the Exeter and Plymouth city-centre hospitality markets and the wider Devon tourism economy. Loan sizes run £250,000 to £10 million, terms from 6 to 18 months, completions in 10 to 21 days. Leisure bridging prices at 0.85 to 1.4% per month depending on trading position, refurbishment scope and the credibility of the exit.
- Decisions in hours
- Completion in days
- £100k to £25m
- Devon specialists
Devon · Devon
Bridge to your next move.
The asset class
What leisure property looks like in Devon.
Leisure as an asset class in Devon covers hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and bars, gyms and health clubs, soft-play and indoor-leisure venues, and the small mixed hospitality-and-retail stock that lines the Torquay, Paignton and Brixham harbour fronts, the Salcombe and Dartmouth waterfronts, and the surfer-led coastal trade at Croyde, Saunton and Woolacombe. Trading-business value drives most of these assets, which makes the underwriting more like specialist commercial lending than vanilla property bridging. Vacant possession value, the alternative-use figure and the going-concern value can all differ materially. Bridging lenders typically lend on the lower of vacant possession value and going-concern value, with a haircut where the trading position is weak or the asset is materially specialist.
Use cases
Bridging use cases for leisure assets.
Leisure bridging cases in Devon sit in a tight set. We see purchases of small hotels and guesthouses along the Torquay seafront, the Paignton Esplanade and the Sidmouth Regency seafront, typically £600,000 to £3 million, where the buyer plans a refurbishment and a refinance to term commercial debt once trading is rebased. We see purchases of restaurant and bar units coming out of administration, particularly on the Exeter Quayside and Plymouth Barbican, where speed of completion is the price of getting the deal. We see capital-raises against unencumbered leisure assets held by long-term operators, often a South Hams pub-with-rooms or a North Devon surf-coast guesthouse, where the funds go toward the next acquisition. We see change-of-use plays where a tired Mid Devon leisure unit is bought, converted to residential or mixed-use, and exited to refinance or sale. And we see development-exit cases on small coastal-leisure schemes in Brixham and Dartmouth where practical completion is reached and the bridge refinances the development facility while units sell out. Across all of these, lenders care about trading evidence, the operator's track record, and the exit.
Devon context
Coastal Leisure from the English Riviera to the North Devon Surf Coast
Devon leisure trades on one of the strongest tourism bases in the country. The Torbay English Riviera, Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, runs a year-round leisure-and-tourism economy supported by a mature hotel stock, the harbours, the Living Coasts heritage and the family-tourism market. Trading evidence on the Torquay seafront is the most established in Devon and underwrites comfortably. The South Hams premium belt, Salcombe, Dartmouth, Kingsbridge, runs a high-end leisure and food-and-beverage market with strong seasonality, with destination restaurants, boutique hotels and waterfront pubs anchoring the Fore Street and Foss Street runs. The North Devon surf coast at Croyde, Saunton, Woolacombe and Putsborough draws a younger, surf-led visitor base from Easter through October, with surf schools, beach cafes, smaller guesthouses and self-catering pubs forming the leisure backbone. The Jurassic Coast east Devon belt, Sidmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Beer and Seaton, carries an older, year-round visitor base supporting smaller hotels and the Regency-era seafront stock. The Dartmoor cottage and pub market runs on a separate driver, with destination food-led pubs in the moorland villages, walker-oriented inns and the National Park's tourism trade. The Exeter city-centre hospitality market and the Plymouth Barbican leisure stock both add a year-round urban dimension. Bridging lenders read all of this. Coastal leisure with a clear seasonality pattern, recognisable trading history and a credible operator behind the wheel sits comfortably at 60 to 65% LTV.
Valuation and lenders
Valuation and lender considerations.
Leisure valuations come back on a trading-business basis where the asset is going concern, and on a vacant-possession-with-alternative-use basis where trading is weak or interrupted. Bridging lenders typically lend on the lower figure with an additional haircut. LTV caps sit at 55 to 65% on most leisure cases, with the higher end reserved for hotels with strong trading evidence and the lower end for specialist or single-use leisure. MT Finance, Octane Capital, Hope Capital, United Trust Bank and Together all take leisure on bridging, with Shawbrook, Cambridge & Counties and OakNorth stronger on hotels and the larger end of the market. Trading accounts, RevPAR data for hotels and a clear operator narrative all help the case clear underwriting.
What we arrange
What we typically arrange.
A typical Devon leisure bridge sits at £500,000 to £3 million, 55 to 65% LTV, 9 to 18 months term, 0.85 to 1.3% per month, arrangement fee 1.5 to 2%. Hotels and guesthouses price softer than specialist single-use leisure. Refurbishment cases include a monitored works tranche. Exit is typically refinance to term commercial debt, sale to a trading operator, or change-of-use exit to residential where the planning supports it. Completion in 14 to 21 days is normal; auction-style speed is achievable with title insurance.
FAQs
Leisure bridging questions
Can we bridge a small hotel purchase on the Torquay seafront?
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Yes. Small hotel and guesthouse purchases along the Torquay and Paignton seafronts are a regular part of the Devon leisure book. Lenders need trading accounts for the last two to three years where the business has been operating, a clear refurbishment and trading plan, and a credible refinance exit at stabilised income. Loans typically run 60 to 65% LTV on the lower of vacant possession value and going-concern value, with the works tranche released against monitoring sign-off. Refinance to term commercial debt is the most common exit at 12 to 15 months.
How do bridging lenders treat restaurant or bar purchases coming out of administration?
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Speed is usually the binding constraint and bridging is built for it. We have completed restaurant and bar purchases in 7 to 14 days from offer where the title is clean and title insurance is available. Lenders lend against the lower of vacant possession value and any defensible going-concern figure, with an extra haircut where trading has been interrupted. LTV typically caps at 55 to 60% on these cases. The exit is usually a sale to an operator or a refinance once the business is re-established and trading.
Does coastal-leisure benefit from holiday-let demand in Devon?
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Yes. The Devon coast from the South Hams round to the North Devon surf belt carries one of the strongest short-let and holiday-let markets in the UK. Self-catering apartment buildings, small B&Bs and holiday-cottage portfolios all see bridging cases. The underwriting reads more like residential-investment than going-concern leisure for the smaller stock, with rental evidence drawn from Sykes Cottages, Toad Hall Cottages, Coast & Country Cottages and Airbnb performance data. LTV typically caps at 65 to 70% on this sub-segment.
Tell us about the deal
Indicative terms within 24 hours.
A short triage call, then a sized indicative offer against a named lender for your leisure property in Devon or across Devon.
Regulated bridging on owner-occupied residential property falls under FCA regulation. Unregulated bridging on commercial and investment property does not. We are not directly regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and we introduce regulated cases to authorised partners who carry out the regulated activity.
Next step
Talk to a Devon leisure bridging specialist.
We arrange short-term finance on leisure property across Devon and the wider Devon market. Indicative terms in 24 hours.