Commercial bridging in Reading: when it is the right answer, and when it absolutely is not

Commercial bridging at 0.75 to 1.10% per month is meaningfully more expensive than term commercial mortgage debt at 6.5 to 8.5% pa, but for the right case it is the right answer. Vacant possession purchase below market value, change-of-use light works, sub-12-month exit, chain-break refinancing, all real bridging use cases we see in the Reading market every month. The wrong cases, using bridging where a clean commercial investment mortgage would fund, or using bridging because the borrower's accounts are not yet ready for term, cost real money and frequently end badly. This piece walks through the case-selection framework, the bridge-to-let exit mechanic, and the active Reading bridging desks at LendInvest, Shawbrook, Together and Hampshire Trust Bank. Three worked Reading examples: a vacant Hexham Road RG30 light-industrial purchase, a Theale RG7 office-to-residential change-of-use, and a chain-break Caversham Church Street RG4 restaurant.