TAB's £7m bridging finance deal on Portobello Road shows how specialist lenders solve complex problems mainstream banks won't touch
TAB has provided £7 million in bridging finance to help a borrower acquire and restructure a portfolio of four freehold commercial units on Portobello Road in Notting Hill.
The deal involved two connected 12-month first-charge facilities. It required TAB to coordinate multiple acquisitions, restructure the borrower's existing holdings, and manage the extraction of two properties from a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) structure. All within a tight timetable.
For brokers whose clients hold commercial assets in pension structures, the transaction is a reminder that specialist bridging finance can reach where conventional lenders cannot.
A bridging finance transaction with multiple moving parts
The transaction required a restructuring of the borrower's existing holdings. It also included a share purchase agreement covering a Notting Hill asset and the extraction of two properties from an existing pension structure.
The acquisitions included an additional interest in one Portobello Road property for £1.5 million and two parts of another commercial property for £1.4 million.
The four properties are all freehold retail units on the west London street with a combined open market value of £6 million. Several are occupied by established businesses running as concessions.
"This was a complicated set of transactions," said Duncan Kreeger, founder and chief executive of TAB. "We had multiple properties, a complex ownership structure and several interconnected acquisitions to complete, all within a tight timetable.
"We had to understand the whole picture, including the existing portfolio, the new acquisitions, the income, the associated SIPP and pension arrangements."
Once licences are renewed, the borrower intends to move the debt on to term commercial finance with a high street lender.
The team behind the TAB deal
Yohann Ifrah, manager of TAB's business development executive team, handled the initial enquiry. Senior underwriter Justice Marima led the underwriting through to completion.
Nick Davies, legal director for real estate at Teacher Stern LLP, which acted on the transaction, said: "TAB took the time to understand the structure and the requirements of the transaction and was able to provide the funding needed to keep the different elements moving towards completion.
"Justice and the TAB team were responsive throughout the process, which helped us complete the transaction within the required timeframe."
TAB, founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur Kreeger, has lent a total of £850 million since launch. The lender secured a £200 million funding line from a challenger bank, announced earlier this month.
How can bridging finance solve complex commercial and pension transactions?
The Portobello Road deal reflects a broader shift in how specialist bridging finance is being used across the UK market.
Bridging finance in 2026 is increasingly being deployed in creative and complex ways, with more investors using short-term funding to restructure portfolios and navigate changing ownership structures.
The sector reached a record £10.03 billion in completions in 2025 – more than doubling from £5.76 billion in 2023 – according to analysis by Octane Capital published in September 2026.
Why bridging finance is suited to SIPP restructuring deals
The SIPP element of this transaction carries particular weight for brokers right now.
From April 2027, inheritance tax changes will affect commercial property held in SIPPs. Restructuring assets out of pension wrappers is becoming more common and more time-sensitive as a result.
Bridging finance suits these scenarios well. It provides the speed that pension administration timelines demand. Traditional mortgage lenders often struggle with the ownership complexity involved.
What does bridging finance solve that mainstream lenders cannot?
Where a high street lender sees complexity and steps back, a specialist bridging lender sees a problem to solve and a clear path to completion.
This kind of multi-property, cross-structure coordination is not unique to the TAB deal.
In 2022, loan.co.uk and Together worked to secure a £1.1 million bridging loan for a landlord with adverse credit. In that scenario, multiple properties were used as security, navigating first-charge complications that emerged mid-process.
The defining factor was the lender's willingness to assess the full picture rather than apply a standardised credit framework.
When should brokers turn to bridging finance over a high street lender?
When a client's transaction spans pension structures, multiple ownership titles and a tight timetable, the answer is straightforward: go with a specialist bridging lender.
High street lenders apply standardised credit frameworks. They are not built to assess SIPP arrangements, coordinate connected acquisitions, or move at the pace complex commercial deals demand.
Specialist bridging finance fills that gap. As the bridging finance market continues to develop, the range of problems it can solve for complex commercial transactions keeps growing.
