LHV Bank
An Estonian-owned UK bank lending £500k to £15m against commercial property and specialist buy-to-let, introduced only through brokers, with a demonstrated sixteen working days to completion.
What they do
LHV Bank received its unrestricted UK banking licence in 2023 and lends from a retail-deposit-funded balance sheet that reached £1.1bn by the end of 2025. Commercial mortgages, commercial investment loans and specialist buy-to-let all run to £15m, secured by a first legal charge over property, on terms of up to five years with a two per cent arrangement fee and tapering early repayment charges. Business comes through the FIBA and NACFB broker networks to regional lending directors in London and Manchester. The loan book more than doubled in 2025.
Where they fit in a lower-mid-market raise
Speed and reachability are the arguments. A £2m facility completing in sixteen working days is documented rather than marketed, and the £15m ceiling now covers a full £3–15m property requirement from a single lender, having been raised quietly from the £5m the bank launched with. Care homes, hotels, industrial and trading premises for profitable owner-managed businesses are the natural cases, across England, Wales and Scotland.
Where they are not the fit
Every facility needs a first legal charge over property, so there is nothing here for an asset-light borrower. Access is broker-only, and a direct approach will be redirected. The five-year maximum term means refinancing risk has to be planned into the structure, and there is no appetite for sponsor-backed deals.
Published terms
- Pricing
- Arrangement fee 2% on all products; ERC 2% years 1-2, 1% years 3-5. Margin/rate not published. Market context for UK commercial property 2025-2026 suggests 200-550 bps over base rate (3.75% as of 2026) depending on loan to value and asset quality
- Speed to terms
- Demonstrated 16 working days to completion on a £2m deal; marketing language emphasises rapid decisions. No formal published timetable published
- Leverage
- Senior to 0.8x, total to 0.8x
- Sponsored or sponsorless
- Entirely corporate and owner-managed. All marketing and case studies feature profitable, owner-managed UK businesses and private family offices. No evidence of sponsor-backed appetite
- Where they lend
- England, Wales, and Scotland confirmed across case studies. London and Manchester offices. No stated exclusions within Great Britain
- How they decide
- Broker-introduced only via FIBA and NACFB network. Regional Lending Directors in Manchester (North) and London (South). Described as pragmatic and bespoke; demonstrated 16-working-day completion on a £2m deal
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
LHV Bank 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 LHV Bank lends, but which of these would own it.
Commercial mortgage
- Facility
- £500k to £15m
- Security
- First legal charge on freehold or long leasehold owner-occupied trading premises; company debenture acceptable in some cases in lieu of personal guarantees; capital repayment holiday up to 12 months available case-by-case; arrangement fee 2.
- Funds
- Acquisition · Growth · Refinance
- Rules out
- Property first legal charge required on all facilities; Broker-introduced only (FIBA/NACFB network); Max term 5 years
Commercial investment loan
- Facility
- £500k to £15m
- Security
- First legal charge on freehold or long leasehold commercial or residential investment property with lease-based income; eligible assets include commercial, industrial, office, retail, warehouses, hotels, student housing, large HMOs, large B.
- Funds
- Acquisition · Growth · Refinance
- Rules out
- Property first legal charge required; Broker-introduced only; Max term 5 years; Max loan to value 70%
Specialist buy-to-let loan
- Facility
- £500k to £15m
- Security
- First legal charge on freehold or long leasehold residential investment property; eligible assets include MUFBs, large BTL portfolios, small HMOs (6 beds or fewer)
- Funds
- Acquisition · Growth · Refinance
- Rules out
- Property first legal charge required; Broker-introduced only; Max term 5 years; Max loan to value 70%
How they sit against the category
- Its published ceiling is £15m; 25 of the 42 challenger and specialist banks here go at least as high.
- 18 of the 42 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 42 challenger & specialist banks 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 LHV Bank write?
Published facilities run £500k to £15m. Published leverage runs senior to 0.8x, total to 0.8x. A band is what a lender states it will do, not what it will do on a given credit.
How quickly does LHV Bank move?
Demonstrated 16 working days to completion on a £2m deal; marketing language emphasises rapid decisions. No formal published timetable published. Published timetables describe a clean case; anything unusual in the security or the structure adds to them.
Does LHV Bank lend to companies without a private-equity sponsor?
Yes. LHV Bank lends to owner-managed and corporate borrowers, and publishes no private-equity sponsor proposition.
Where does LHV Bank lend?
England, Wales, and Scotland confirmed across case studies. London and Manchester offices. No stated exclusions within Great Britain.
On the record
June 2026: £2.8m commercial investment loan on social housing HMO portfolio with long-term housing provider leases, introduced by The UK Adviser Group.
January 2025: £7m commercial investment loan on Grade A multi-let Manchester city centre office, 68% LTV, 5-year IO, private family office borrower, introduced by GDP Funding.
2024: £2.3m hotel acquisition loan at 66% LTV, 5-year term on 20-year amortisation, no personal guarantees, introduced by Sirius Finance.
2023: £3.6m commercial investment loan on secondary Ashford office with mixed tenants, 5-year term with 6-month IO, introduced by Home of Specialist Finance.
2025: Scottish luxury wedding and corporate events venue refinance, 12-month IO then 19-year amortisation, introduced by Portway Finance.
Sources: lhv.com
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.