International borrowers looking for a bridging loan in France often find that domestic bank processes are slow or ill-suited to a short-dated need. A practical guide to who lends on French bridges, how facilities are sized and structured, and what shapes the timeline.
France has one of the deepest prime residential markets in Europe, and one of the more fragmented financing landscapes. International and high-net-worth borrowers searching for a bridging loan in France, the term most English-speaking borrowers use for what the market also calls a bridge loan, frequently find that domestic bank processes are slow, or simply not designed for a short-dated requirement. A bridge fills that gap. This is a practical guide to how bridge finance works on prime French property: what it is used for, who provides it, how it is sized and structured, and what determines how quickly it completes.
What a Bridging Loan Is Used For in France
A bridging loan is a short-term facility secured on real estate, drawn in a single advance and repaid from a defined exit. It typically runs for 3 to 24 months, and its purpose is speed and flexibility rather than low cost of funds.
On prime French property, the uses we see most often are consistent. An acquisition funded ahead of the sale of another asset. The refurbishment of Haussmannian stock in Paris before a sale or a long-term hold. Equity released from a low-leverage or unencumbered portfolio to fund another purchase. And the refinancing of maturing French bank debt with private capital, where the incumbent bank will not extend on acceptable terms or within the time available.
A Professional Bridge Is Not a Consumer Prêt Relais
The French term prêt relais usually describes a different product altogether. For a French household, a prêt relais is the loan a bank provides so that a family can buy its new main home before the old one is sold. It is consumer credit, regulated as such, and it is provided by authorised banks as part of a household's lending relationship.
The bridge finance we arrange is for professional and corporate borrowers: private investors acting through holding structures, family offices, developers and operators. It is underwritten on the asset, the structure and the exit rather than on household income. Where a requirement is in fact regulated consumer or residential lending for an individual, it is introduced to authorised institutions rather than arranged by us. Passy Partners operates as an arranger from London, working with French intermediaries and lenders where local IOBSP scope is required.
Who Lends on French Bridging Loans
Borrowers often ask for the top bridge funds in France, but the more useful question is which type of lender fits the transaction. The French bridge market is served by four broad groups, and their appetite differs materially.
Private banks lend in the context of a wider wealth relationship. They can be highly competitive for a borrower with an existing or prospective banking relationship, but they are rarely the fastest route, and their appetite is shaped by the client as much as by the asset.
Debt funds are typically the most flexible on structure and timing, and are comfortable with transitional business plans such as refurbishment or a planned sale. Their pricing reflects that flexibility.
European specialist real estate lenders are active on prime residential and mixed-use assets and are generally well organised around French security and notarial processes. Some are more comfortable than others with non-resident principals.
Family offices lend selectively, usually where the asset or the location is one they know well. When the fit is right, they can be decisive and quick.
Choosing among them depends on the borrower's residence, the holding structure, the ticket size and the time available. We take each mandate to a shortlist of three to five lenders selected for genuine fit, rather than circulating it widely.
How a French Bridge Is Sized and Priced
Bridge facilities we arrange on French property are typically priced from around 8% per annum, with senior leverage up to around 70% of value. The exact rate and loan-to-value depend on the asset, its location, the term and the borrower profile, and they are set by the chosen lender rather than by us.
Our mandates are senior, including stretch-senior, and secured by a first-ranking charge over the property. The exit, whether a sale or a refinance onto longer-term debt, is part of the credit case from the first conversation and should be evidenced rather than asserted. Deal sizes run from €1M to €50M.
The Holding Structure Comes First
Most of our French flow involves non-resident borrowers, and most non-resident acquisitions are held through an SCI or an SCI à l'IS. The structure is not a detail to settle at the end. It affects which lenders are eligible, what the security package looks like, the borrower's IFI (impôt sur la fortune immobilière) exposure and succession planning.
For that reason, structuring is coordinated with the borrower's notaire and tax counsel from term sheet stage, rather than retrofitting the financing to a structure already in place. A lender comfortable with a Paris apartment held directly may take a different view of the same asset held through a layered foreign structure.
Timing
A straightforward bridge in core jurisdictions completes in roughly four to eight weeks from a complete information pack. Cross-border structures take longer, typically eight to sixteen weeks. On French transactions the critical path is usually the notarial process and legal due diligence rather than the lender's credit review, which is why engaging the notaire early and having the title and structure documentation complete is the most effective way to protect the timeline.
Where We Work in France
We arrange bridge finance across Paris intra-muros, the Côte d'Azur, including Saint-Tropez, Cap d'Antibes and Cap-Ferrat, and the major Alpine resorts of Courchevel, Megève, Val d'Isère and Méribel. Asset types span prime residential, hôtels particuliers, Riviera villas, Alpine chalets and selective hospitality.
Fees on an arrangement mandate are agreed in writing up front and paid by the borrower on completion. If you are considering a bridging loan on a French property, we would encourage you to get in touch before approaching lenders directly: the structure, the lender type and the exit are far easier to align at the start than midway through a process.
Related questions,
answered.
Yes, and most of the French bridge flow we see involves non-resident borrowers. Acquisitions are commonly held through an SCI or an SCI à l'IS, and the structure affects which lenders are eligible, the security package, IFI exposure and succession planning. It is coordinated with the borrower's notaire and tax counsel from term sheet stage, and lenders are selected for their ability to work with non-resident principals and French holding structures.
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