Imperial Blue Finance
A Mayfair principal lending its own and committed institutional capital into English development and bridging deals, with evidenced facilities between roughly £2.4m and £11.6m.
What they do
Imperial Blue Finance lends as principal rather than arranging for others, deploying its own capital alongside committed institutional and private money. It writes senior and stretched senior development finance from around a five per cent margin on terms to thirty-six months, drawn against construction milestones, plus bridging and mezzanine or joint-venture equity where a scheme needs it. Evidenced deals run across prime central London, Hampshire, Dorset, Surrey, the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Manchester, in residential, mixed-use and hospitality.
Where they fit in a lower-mid-market raise
Facility sizes evidenced between about £2.4m and £11.6m sit squarely inside a lower-mid-market requirement, and a single balance sheet with terms often issued within hours suits a scheme where the land purchase has a deadline. Being able to add mezzanine or equity from the same house avoids assembling a capital stack from three sources.
Where they are not the fit
Lending is England-only in practice, weighted to London and the South. The stated £1m to £100m range is aspirational at both ends against an evidenced ceiling near £11.6m. Full planning and a developer track record are required, and everything is business-purpose lending secured on UK real estate.
Published terms
- Pricing
- Senior development from circa 5% margin p.a. (fixed, priced per deal, terms to 36 months). Bridging and mezzanine priced per deal; no headline rate published on the firm's own site
- Speed to terms
- Not published
- Sponsored or sponsorless
- Lends to companies, SPVs, developers and HNW/family-office borrowers on real-estate security; typically co-invests alongside HNW individuals and family offices.
- Where they lend
- England only (heavy London and southern weighting). Evidenced deals in Prime Central London, Hampshire, Dorset, Surrey, East Midlands, South West England, Yorkshire and Manchester. No evidence of Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland lending
- How they decide
- Principal-led decisions from the firm's own/committed capital; markets speed and certainty from a single balance sheet, terms often within hours. Developer-experience gate, full planning required, limited personal guarantees. Authority is delegated below committee on at least part of the book
- Search funds and ETA
- No published route for search-fund or first-time acquirer borrowers
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
Imperial Blue Finance lends through 3 separate books. Which one reads a deal decides the security, the covenant package and the band, so the question is rarely whether Imperial Blue Finance lends, but which of these would own it.
Senior / stretched-senior development finance
- Facility
- £1m to £100m
- Security
- First-charge senior (and stretched-senior) development debt secured against UK real estate.
- Rules out
- Business-purpose/unregulated only; UK real-estate security required (not trading-business cashflow)
Bridging / short-term property finance
- Facility
- £500k to £15m
- Security
- First-charge bridging secured against UK real estate, principal capital. Facility historically from circa £500k; evidenced single facilities to £10.4m (Prime Central London, Jun-2026) and £8.7m (Hampstead, 2018).
- Rules out
- Business-purpose/unregulated only; UK real-estate security required (not trading-business cashflow)
Mezzanine / JV equity
- Facility
- £1m to £15m
- Security
- Leverage/gap product for experienced developers: up to circa 98% LTC (developer contributes circa 20% equity, Imperial Blue up to circa 80%). Junior to a senior facility; secured against UK real estate.
- Rules out
- Business-purpose/unregulated only; UK real-estate security required (not trading-business cashflow)
How they sit against the category
- Its published ceiling of £100m is among the 5 highest of the 75 property-backed lenders here.
- 65 of the 75 publish an indicative price at all; it is one of them.
- It lends through 3 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 Imperial Blue Finance write?
Published facilities run £500k to £100m. A band is what a lender states it will do, not what it will do on a given credit.
Does Imperial Blue Finance lend to search funds or ETA buyers?
Not on the published evidence. Imperial Blue Finance publishes no route for search-fund or first-time acquirer borrowers. A searcher's route to a lender usually runs through the quality of the target and the equity behind it.
Where does Imperial Blue Finance lend?
England only (heavy London and southern weighting). Evidenced deals in Prime Central London, Hampshire, Dorset, Surrey, East Midlands, South West England, Yorkshire and Manchester. No evidence of Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland lending.
On the record
May 2026: £8.1m senior development, Hampshire (outside Winchester), £13m GDV, 63% LTGDV, 18-month term, refinancing bank funding (quote: James Harries.
June 2026: £10.4m bridging, Prime Central London hospitality-led mixed-use (circa 280 hotel keys, end value >£200m.
May 2018: £8.7m bridging, Hampstead, Middle Eastern private investor (advised by Fladgate.
Sources: imperial-blue-finance.co.uk
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.