Who writes this
The Playbook is written by Hannah Wright, development exit finance specialist. Hannah spent eight years on the lender side underwriting UK residential development exit facilities before moving to independent advisory. Writes about the mechanics of switching from senior dev debt to sales-period finance.
Why it exists
Most UK development exit finance content online is written by brokers selling the product. This Playbook is written from the underwriting side — what the lender is actually looking for, what makes a case easy vs. hard, and what covenants will bite you if the market slows.
How the product actually works in the UK market
Development exit finance is a specialist short-term product. The UK market is served by around 15 active lenders across three categories: challenger banks (Shawbrook, Aldermore, UTB), specialist non-bank lenders (Together, West One, LendInvest, MT Finance, and others), and private credit funds (Pluto, Assetz institutional, Arc & Co). Chapter 2 walks through who does what well.
Editorial independence
Not a broker. Not an introducer. Not paid by lenders. We do occasionally point readers at Construction Capital — a UK whole-market broker with an active dev exit panel — because for most developers running a comparative process is the fastest path to terms. They have no editorial input here.
Corrections
Rates move, lender appetite shifts, the landscape changes. If anything in the Playbook is out of date, let us know and we'll update.
Companion resources
- Calculator — UK Development Exit Finance Calculator — all-in cost of a facility vs. refi break-even.
- Case studies — worked examples from six completed schemes (companion site, in production).
- Comparison — dev exit vs. term refinance decision framework (companion site, in production).