Specialist finance broker Churchbridge Capital has removed borrower broker fees on its core bridging loans and introduced a cashback scheme that returns a proportion of lender commissions to customers.
The London-based company said the initiative aims to reduce borrowing costs for property investors, landlords, developers and business owners using short-term property finance.
Under the new arrangement, Churchbridge will not charge borrowers its own broker fee on core bridging loans. Customers arranging standard bridging finance will also receive cashback equivalent to 10% of the procuration fee the company earns from lenders.
The cashback offer applies to standard bridging transactions where Churchbridge receives a lender commission of at least 1%, which the company said accounts for most of its lending arrangements.
For larger transactions where lender commissions are negotiated down to 0.5% or 0.3%, cashback may be reduced or unavailable, although Churchbridge said it will continue to waive its own broker fees.
The company highlighted a recent £1.1m bridging loan completed for a borrower in Bath, who received £1,100 cashback and avoided a broker fee equivalent to £11,000, based on Churchbridge’s previous typical charge of 1%.
According to Churchbridge, the loan completed in 12 days using an existing property valuation, avoiding the need to commission a new report.
George Wall, managing director of Churchbridge Capital, said: “For too long, borrowers have accepted expensive broker fees as an unavoidable part of arranging bridging finance. We don’t believe that should be the norm, and we’ve decided to do something about it.
“We’ve abolished our borrower broker fees on our core bridging loans. But we’ve gone further, sharing part of the commission we receive with the people who matter most — our borrowers.
“We believe people deserve competitive funding without unnecessary additional costs. It’s time borrowers got a fairer deal.”
Churchbridge arranges bridging finance for auction purchases, property refinancing, development projects and borrowers looking to raise capital against existing property assets.
The company works alongside WSP Capital Limited and provides access to a range of UK bridging lenders.
While Churchbridge is removing its own broker charges, borrowers may still incur lender arrangement fees, interest, valuation costs, legal expenses and other transaction charges.
The company said cashback remains subject to transaction eligibility and the commission received from the lender.
