A former gas works site in Tonbridge, Kent has secured £3 million in bridging finance from Secure Trust Bank Business Finance to fund remediation works ahead of a planned 144-apartment development.
Real estate advisory firm FRP arranged the 18-month facility, structured at 44% loan-to-value. The finance will refinance the site and release equity to cover remedial works required before construction can begin. The developer plans to refinance onto development finance once remediation is complete.
Brownfield site challenges
The proposed scheme comprises 52 one-bedroom, 69 two-bedroom and 23 three-bedroom apartments. However, developers must first make the ground safe before any homes can be built on the former industrial site.
SGN, which operates the gas network across southern England and Scotland, owns 110 gas holders and is dismantling them to enable land regeneration. The government has opened a further £34.7 million round of its Brownfield Land Release Fund this year to help councils meet remediation and abnormal costs that typically delay brownfield site development.
Edward Horn-Smith, partner at FRP, led the transaction with Corey Dennis, associate director. The developer, which has over 30 years of experience, approached FRP directly requiring funding for the remedial works stage.
“A gas works is not a site many lenders want to take on in a tough market, and the remediation is the one part of the project nobody sees once the homes are built,” said Horn-Smith. “The developer had a clear plan for the land, so our job was to put that plan in front of a lender willing to take the time to understand the ground beneath it.”
Lender appetite for complex sites
Secure Trust Bank Business Finance has been expanding its bridging range and originated £40 million of bridging loans in the first half of 2026. The bank’s willingness to finance complex remediation projects contrasts with broader market caution around contaminated sites.
John O’Leary, senior relationship director at Secure Trust Bank Business Finance, said: “Nobody wants to find out what is in the ground halfway through a build, so on a former gas works the first conversation is about the remediation, not the apartments. With a developer who has more than 30 years behind them and leverage at 44%, we were comfortable backing that stage.”
The transaction highlights the financing challenges developers face when bringing brownfield sites to market, particularly those with industrial contamination requiring specialist remediation before residential development can proceed.
