Not every bridging lender scores your credit file. Several lenders Boxx Finance works with underwrite on the strength of the security and the exit strategy instead. That is a genuinely different approach from a mainstream mortgage or personal loan, and it is worth understanding properly rather than assuming it means no checks at all.
What "no credit check" really means
No lender skips due diligence. What changes is whether a credit score decides the outcome. A mainstream lender feeds your credit file into a scorecard, and a low score can decline the application before anyone looks at the property. A bridging lender that does not credit-score looks first at what the loan is secured on and how it will be repaid, and treats credit history as context rather than as a gate.
How the panel lenders treat credit
| Lender | Approach to credit | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| MT Finance | Does not credit-score bridging applications; accepts CCJs and arrears; no personal guarantee required | Priced for speed and credit flexibility; LTV capped at 70% |
| West One Loans | Does not credit-score or check employment unless the client permits it; underwrites manually throughout | An existing IVA or debt management plan can potentially be discharged by the loan; upfront fee model |
| Together | Assesses credit history rather than a score; disregards adverse older than 12 months when pricing | Satisfied IVAs accepted on regulated second charge; active IVAs considered by referral |
| Hope Capital | Considers adverse credit, weighing borrower credibility alongside the asset and exit | Not an automatic decline |
| United Trust Bank | Near-prime range, launched in August 2026, for borrowers with historical credit blips | A specialist bank behind the facility |
| Octopus Real Estate | Some adverse credit considered case by case | Typically expects property investment or development experience |
| LendInvest | Not a heavy adverse credit lender | Top tier requires three years' UK residency |
| Shawbrook | Considers adverse only by exception, alongside a strong asset and exit | Prefers cleaner profiles |
What lenders check instead
- Identity and address for every applicant.
- Source of funds for the deposit and fees, as part of anti-money-laundering checks.
- The property itself, through a valuation or an automated route where the lender offers one.
- The legal title and any existing charges on the property.
- The exit: how, and how credibly, the loan will be repaid.
The underwriting weight moves from the credit file to the asset and the exit. That is why a lender that does not credit-score may still decline a case with very recent, serious adverse credit if the security or exit does not stack up: the decision has not disappeared, it has moved.
CCJs, arrears and IVAs
MT Finance accepts CCJs and arrears on bridging. Together disregards adverse credit older than 12 months when pricing, accepts satisfied IVAs on regulated second charge, and considers active IVAs by referral where there is a three-year payment history and the loan clears the IVA in full. West One Loans can potentially discharge an existing IVA or debt management plan through the loan. United Trust Bank's near-prime range exists for historical credit blips that fall outside its standard criteria.
In practice, how recent the problem is, whether it has been satisfied, and what caused it usually tell an underwriter more than whether it exists at all. Our guide to bridging loans with bad credit covers that in more depth.
Who it suits
Borrowers with CCJs, arrears, or a credit score that would trigger an automatic decline elsewhere are the clearest fit, provided the property and exit plan are genuinely sound, since those now do the work a credit score would normally do. It also suits borrowers who simply prefer not to have a credit search recorded, though that should not be the only reason to choose a lender.
Where care is needed
Rate is not automatically higher because a lender skips credit scoring. It is driven mainly by LTV, security type and exit strength, the same as anywhere else. Disclosing your credit history upfront, whatever the lender's scoring policy, is still the safest approach: an underwriter who discovers something during searches rather than at application can slow a case down considerably.
Regulated bridging, secured on a home you or a family member live in, comes with affordability checks under FCA rules, so no-scoring positions are most relevant to investment and business-purpose lending.
Summary
Several panel lenders genuinely remove credit scoring from bridging underwriting, and others sit on a spectrum from assessing history without a score to considering adverse only by exception. "No credit check" is still a simplification: due diligence moves to the asset and exit rather than disappearing. Figures above are correct as of 2026 and should be confirmed with your broker before an application.
