Short-term loans from £100k to £5m, structured around your specific cash catalyst — not slotted into a standard product. Used for shareholder buyouts, acquisitions, working capital gaps, and bridges to closed equity rounds. Decisions in days. Documentation in weeks.
Most lenders offer rate cards. You tell them what you want, they tell you what they have, and you fit your transaction into the box that's closest. That works for plain-vanilla situations — and badly for everything else.
Finstock builds bespoke bridge finance from scratch for each borrower. The interest rate, term, repayment trigger, security package, and covenant set are all designed around the actual cash catalyst you're bridging to. We've structured loans repaid by tax credit receipts, by quarterly drawdowns from a publisher, by a Series D close, by a reverse SPAC completion, and by ongoing ARR growth. None of those came from a rate card.
You deal directly with Edo Salvesen and Oliver Jenkinson, who make every decision personally. There are no relationship managers, no credit committees, and no hand-offs. The person you negotiate with is the person who signs the term sheet.
A non-exhaustive list. If your situation isn't here, the answer is probably still yes — get in touch.
Partial or full shareholder buyouts where the company has the cash flow to service debt but the balance sheet doesn't suit a bank. Common in profitable founder-led businesses transitioning ownership without giving up equity to a private equity buyer.
Funding for bolt-on acquisitions where speed matters, secured against the combined entity. Particularly useful for management buyouts and roll-up strategies that don't fit traditional acquisition lenders.
Working capital while a Series A, B, C or D closes. Most equity rounds slip. A bridge from Finstock removes the pressure to accept worse terms or take an earlier signing for cash flow reasons.
Stretched supplier terms, an unusually large order, a one-off transaction cost, or a launch ramp-up. Where the gap is genuine and time-bound, a bridge is usually cleaner than equity or stretched payables.
Loans against R&D, Theatre, Film, Animation, and VGTR receivables — and against UK Games Fund grants and similar awards. We take security over the receivable; you get cash in days.
Where traditional asset finance is too slow or won't engage — biotech equipment, specialist manufacturing tools, or transaction-related infrastructure. Repayment structured against the asset's operational performance.
Smart Pension was mid-Series D when they came to us — the round was substantively closed but final documentation was taking longer than planned. They needed working capital to bridge the gap, on terms that wouldn't disrupt the equity process. We structured a three-month bridge facility, completed full diligence and documentation in twelve working days, and funds were in the borrower's account ahead of schedule.
The most common alternative to a bespoke bridge from a specialist lender is a convertible loan note (CLN) from existing or new equity investors. Here's the honest comparison:
| Convertible Loan Note | Finstock Bridge | |
|---|---|---|
| Annualised cost | 40–50% (via discount) | Teens % p.a. |
| Equity dilution | 20–25% discount at conversion | None |
| Time to close | Weeks of negotiation | 2–4 weeks |
| Documentation | Complex, bespoke each time | Standardised templates |
| Counterparty | Account managers, committees | Principals only |
| Warrants | Common | Not required |
| Best for | Pre-revenue, heavy uncertainty | Clear cash catalyst |
Bridge finance is short-term lending designed to bridge a specific cash gap — typically the time between needing funds and a known future cash event (an equity round, an asset sale, a tax credit receipt, or an exit). Terms usually run from a few weeks to two years, with repayment timed to the specific cash catalyst rather than a generic monthly schedule.
Bespoke bridge finance is structured to fit a specific transaction rather than slotted into a standard product. The interest rate, term, repayment trigger, security package, and covenant set are all designed around the borrower's actual cash position and catalyst. Most high-street and challenger lenders offer rate cards, not bespoke structures — Finstock builds each loan from scratch, which is why we can lend in situations where everyone else has said no.
Most Finstock bridge facilities complete within two to four weeks of first contact. The Smart Pension Series D bridge — our largest single transaction at £165m — completed twelve working days from first introduction. Speed depends on documentation readiness and counsel availability; the financing decision itself is rarely the bottleneck.
Common uses include shareholder buyouts and partial buybacks, acquisition finance, working capital during a stretched period, bridging to a closed equity round, accelerating a tax credit receivable, funding M&A or transaction costs, and equipment or asset purchases. Finstock has lent against all of these structures.
No. Unlike most venture debt providers, Finstock does not take equity warrants as standard. We earn interest income, not equity participation, leaving 100% of the upside with existing shareholders.
Pricing is bespoke and depends on the perceived risk, term, security package, and size of the loan. Indicative pricing typically falls in the teens (% per annum) for a clean bridge with a clear repayment catalyst. We'll quote indicative terms on the first call.
Finstock Capital lends to corporate borrowers — limited companies, LLPs, and similar entities — rather than consumers. Commercial lending of this nature is not regulated by the FCA in the same way as consumer credit. We operate to institutional standards and have institutional-quality counterparties (lawyers, auditors, partners), and most borrowers come to us via professional referral.
Banks lend against historical financial performance and tangible assets, with long underwriting timelines and standardised products. We lend against forward-looking cash catalysts and bespoke structures. If you can get a bank loan on workable terms, take it — we're cheaper than equity but more expensive than a bank. We're most useful when you need speed, flexibility, or when traditional lenders won't engage with the situation.
Twenty minutes on the phone with Edo or Oliver and you'll know whether we can help and roughly what the terms look like. No fee, no obligation.