BLG Development Finance
A development lender writing £500k to £15m of residential and commercial scheme finance from its own balance sheet, accredited under the British Business Bank's guarantee programme.
What they do
BLG lends against development from its own balance sheet, backed by UK shareholders and institutional funding, and is accredited to write facilities under the Growth Guarantee Scheme. Products cover residential and commercial development finance and bridging, from £500k to £15m across England, Wales and Scotland. Rates are negotiated on complexity and quantum rather than published, with the bridging product referenced against the firm's own base rate. Regional business development directors assess cases locally and can be on site quickly.
Where they fit in a lower-mid-market raise
The £15m ceiling covers a whole £3–15m development requirement, and government guarantee accreditation is unusual among development lenders, potentially improving terms where the borrower qualifies. Regional decision-makers who will visit a site matter more on a development than on any other kind of lending, because the scheme, not the borrower's accounts, is the credit.
Where they are not the fit
Northern Ireland is outside the lending criteria. An experienced developer track record is required, so a first scheme is a difficult case. Pricing is negotiated rather than published, and there are no named deal case studies in public, so comparison and reference-taking both need doing directly.
Published terms
- Pricing
- Negotiated; rates stated as 'negotiable on complexity and debt quantum'; bridging product references a 4.5% annual BLG base rate but margin unspecified. No bps schedule published
- Speed to terms
- Not published
- Sponsored or sponsorless
- Corporate/developer appetite; no reference to sponsor-backed structures. Targets experienced SME housebuilders and commercial property developers directly
- Where they lend
- England, Wales and Scotland (UK-wide excluding Northern Ireland per published lending criteria and regional team coverage)
- How they decide
- Regionally based new business team; borrower contacts a regional Business Development Director who assesses locally; direct access to decision-makers cited. No published published timetable for credit decision
As published by the lender and last reviewed August 2026. Terms quoted on a deal are set by the credit, not by a published band.
The desks that lend
BLG Development Finance lends through 4 separate books. Which one reads a deal decides the security, the covenant package and the band, so the question is rarely whether BLG Development Finance lends, but which of these would own it.
Residential development finance
- Facility
- £1m to £15m
- Security
- First legal charge over development site; up to 75% GDV or 90% of project costs (including rolled-up interest)
- Funds
- Growth · Refinance
- Rules out
- Property security required; Experienced developer track record required; Northern Ireland excluded
Commercial development finance
- Facility
- £1m to £15m
- Security
- First legal charge; pre-let and speculative commercial considered; generally up to 75% loan to value including interest
- Funds
- Growth · Refinance
- Rules out
- Property security required; Northern Ireland excluded
Bridging finance (development-linked)
- Facility
- £500k to £10m
- Security
- Property security required; up to 75% loan to value including interest; case-by-case basis
- Funds
- Acquisition · Refinance
- Rules out
- Property security required; Linked to development activity; Northern Ireland excluded
Growth guarantee scheme (GGS) loans
- Security
- Government-backed guarantee via British Business Bank; SME developers only
- Funds
- Growth
- Rules out
- SME eligibility criteria apply; Property security required
How they sit against the category
- Its published ceiling is £15m; 42 of the 75 property-backed lenders here go at least as high.
- 65 of the 75 publish an indicative price at all; it is one of them.
- It lends through 4 distinct desks, where most firms here run one or two.
Counted across the 75 property-backed lenders in this directory, on what each one publishes. What a lender discloses and what it will do are different things.
Questions this page answers
How large a facility does BLG Development Finance write?
Published facilities run £500k to £15m. A band is what a lender states it will do, not what it will do on a given credit.
Where does BLG Development Finance lend?
England, Wales and Scotland (UK-wide excluding Northern Ireland per published lending criteria and regional team coverage).
What does BLG Development Finance lend?
The published product set is residential development finance, commercial development finance, bridging finance, growth guarantee scheme (ggs) loans. Published sector focus is commercial, housebuilding, industrial, office, property.
Sources
This profile is a curated reference note drawn from public sources, not financial advice or a recommendation. Appetite and terms change; a lender's fit for a given credit is established by approaching it, not inferred from a page.