Hold is the business case: it states a position rather than offering a switch for everything. Per-lot flexibility belongs in Hammerstone Bid. Each ruling below carries its reason; each is tested by an accountant, a solicitor or a broker before anything is formed.
Change any of these; every tab recomputes. Defaults are illustrative, not anyone's real position. The trade inputs come from the measured cohort (S.85 re-derivation of RESALE-4, n = 1,175), never from hope.
Where each number comes from: tax on a trip's profit · stamp duty · rates and sources · the resale study.
The steps for the next purchase, each with what it depends on and a rough duration, as a working hypothesis to be tested by an accountant, a solicitor and a broker. Windows are generic on this page — no dates, nothing personal — until Hold sits behind the login. Research, not advice.
The structure is fixed at purchase, so this is decided before bidding. A company under £500,000 pays the same SDLT as an individual; the 17% cliff above is a ceiling, not a target, until relief is confirmed.
An unregulated bridge, secured on the property and assessed on the exit rather than a salary multiple. Not a given — an underwriting decision, agreed in principle before the first bid. Loan-to-value 70–75% and 18–24 month terms are general market knowledge, not quotes.
Whatever is not the bridge is own funds — deposit, stamp duty, fees, works. Any money from another person is documented as a loan or as equity, in writing, before it moves; an invitation to invest is where the financial-promotion rules bite, so the solicitor comes first.
If the company buys, an LPA is the wrong tool: the person acting is a director or an authorised signatory under the company's documents. Set up before the works, so the works window can run through an away period.
About five lots a cycle across four or five London houses running monthly sales; a max bid for each; walk away above it. Over two or three cycles one comes in under. The max never crosses £499,999 until relief is confirmed.
10% (sometimes a minimum sum) plus the buyer's fees on the day; the balance, stamp duty and legals at completion. The bridge draws at completion.
The cohort says patience pays: under six months the trade loses (−3.7%); the best band is 12–18 months (+26.4%). The works are scoped so the exit lands in that band, not before.
Sell (the cohort's best band is 12–18 months), or refinance onto a buy-to-let mortgage and let it — assessed on rent covering interest (commonly 125–145%), barely on salary. The second route turns a trade into an asset and removes the forced sale. The Letting tab tests whether that refinance clears the bridge, then shows what each year keeps. The rule: sell when the market gives a good price; otherwise refinance, let, and sell later into a better market — letting is the fallback that avoids a forced sale, not the return engine (sell or let, in Reference).
On the price and structure chosen on the Decide tab. Every line is an assumption you can change; none is a quote. Before works is the figure the plan turns on.
"Can I actually afford to bid on this?" Three illustrative prices, the company as buyer, the bridge loan-to-value set on Decide, and every other line as set in the panel above — the works budget held at the panel's figure and labelled so. Own funds are everything the bridge does not lend. Generic and illustrative: no real lot, no real date, nobody's real position.
Part of the own funds might be lent privately. A fair rate sits between what the lender could earn risk-free (the floor) and what the company would pay a commercial bridge for the same money (the ceiling) — in between, both sides beat their alternative. Quoted per year, paid for the months borrowed (a private loan is normally quoted annually; bridges are quoted monthly), and the term runs to the exit, not to the end of the works.
The same amount provided three ways, against the cohort's bridge row at its lower quartile, median and upper quartile (the ruled basis: −3.3% · +13.5% · +32.1% of the price paid, after purchase and selling costs, before works and tax; n = 1,175, measured at 55% loan-to-value). Loan: the provider is paid the ladder's midpoint rate for the term whatever the outcome; the buyer keeps the rest. Equity: the provider's share of the cash to find is their share of the outcome, loss included. Owner plus fee: the provider funds and owns the purchase; the buyer is paid a flat fee for the work and takes no share — a profit share, if any, is open and not modelled.
One lot per trip is a presentation choice. In practice the surplus capital above the cap would buy a second lot under £500,000 rather than sit idle; the page shows one lot per trip so the cap's effect is visible. (S.91 §2.3.)
The refinance-and-let exit works only if the buy-to-let loan on the value after works repays what is owed to the bridge. The lender lends the lower of a share of the value and what the rent supports at a stressed rate.
Selling returns all the capital to go again; letting returns part of it and parks the rest at this return until a sale. Holding has a cost — the cash left in — so "wait for a better market" is a judgement, not a default (sell or let, in Reference).
Research, not advice. Every figure is illustrative: the value after works, the loan-to-value, the rent cover and the stress rate are the broker's to confirm. Product and valuation fees on the refinance are not included.
Individual landlords are taxed on rent before interest and get a credit worth basic rate on the interest (20% now, 22% from 6 April 2027, when property income moves to 22 / 42 / 47%). A company deducts interest in full and pays corporation tax on what is left. It matters for holding and letting; it barely matters for a quick flip. Letting is now a live exit (Plan, step 8): refinance onto a buy-to-let at the end of the works instead of selling.
A study, never a lot card. Does this trade work, and where — the business question. Historical outturns of other people's sales, net of the market, after every computed cost; before works and tax.
An additional dwelling for an individual pays the residential ladder plus 5% on the whole price. A company pays the same below £500,000; at £500,000 and above it pays a flat 17% on the whole price unless a relief applies. The structure is fixed at purchase — moving a property into a company later is a sale to it.
Corrected from the S.84 conversation: at £499,999 a company pays ≈ £40,000 (£15,000 ladder + £25,000 surcharge), not ≈ £37,000; at £500,001 it pays £85,000 — a jump of ≈ £45,000, not ~£11,000. A relieved company still pays ladder + 5%, files ATED returns yearly on a dwelling over £500,000, and faces clawback if a connected person occupies within three years. First-time-buyer relief cannot apply to an additional dwelling and cannot apply to a company.
| Item | Value used | Where from |
|---|---|---|
| SDLT residential ladder (England, from 1 April 2025) | 0% to £125k · 2% to £250k · 5% to £925k · 10% to £1.5m · 12% above | gov.uk SDLT rates |
| Additional-dwelling surcharge | +5% on the whole price (individuals; companies below £500k) | gov.uk (from 31 October 2024) |
| Company purchase of a dwelling at £500,000 or more | 17% flat on the whole price (15% + 2%), unless relieved; ATED returns yearly; 3-year occupation clawback | S.84 §3.2, gov.uk policy paper 27 Nov 2025 |
| Corporation tax | 19% at or under £50k · 25% over £250k · marginal relief between (fraction 3/200); limits divided by associated companies | gov.uk |
| Income tax 2026/27 | Personal allowance £12,570 (tapered above £100k) · 20% to £50,270 · 40% to £125,140 · 45% above | gov.uk |
| Class 4 NIC on trading profit | 6% between £12,570 and £50,270 · 2% above | gov.uk |
| Dividend tax from 6 April 2026 | £500 allowance · 10.75% basic · 35.75% upper · 39.35% additional; s455 charge 35.75% | S.84 §3.2 (upper rate and s455); basic-rate figure from the same Budget — confirm with the accountant |
| CGT on residential property (if a sale is a capital gain, not a trade) | 18% basic · 24% higher · £3,000 annual exempt amount | gov.uk |
| Property income and finance-cost credit | 20 / 40 / 45% and a 20% credit now; 22 / 42 / 47% and a 22% credit from 6 April 2027 | S.84 §3.2 |
| Trip margin (cohort) | Median +20.9% cash · +13.5% bridge; 12–18 months +26.4% / +20.7%; 6–12 months +22.9% / +18.6%; under 6 months −3.7% / −5.8%; inner-London flats +11.1% / +1.3% — n = 1,175, 80.3% positive before works | S.85 Working Note §2 (RESALE-4 re-derived at 2.0% + VAT + £1,500 selling costs) |
| Bridge row | Measured at 55% LTV on the 2026 bridge terms (≈ 7% a year) over each trip's own hold (the resale study shows it as measured). Decide, Plan, Compounding and the refinance test scale that measured cost to the loan-to-value in force (70% by default), because a bridge's interest and fees are proportional to the amount lent | S.79 RESALE-4; scaling S.89 §2.3 |
| Bridge loan-to-value 70%; interest term 15 months (the cohort's median hold, 461 days) | Illustrative: roughly what auction bridging lends on an unmodernised property; to be confirmed with the broker | S.89 §2.3, §3.2 |
| Lender's valuation £800; lender's legal fees £1,500 | Illustrative, general knowledge, not quotes | S.89 §3.2 |
| Refinance test: buy-to-let 75% of the value after works; rent cover 125% at a 5.5% stress rate; value after works the price × 1.2 by default | Illustrative, general market knowledge; the broker to confirm | S.89 §3.4 |
| Rent: a gross yield on the value after works, not on the price | 5% by default. The agent's sale price and rent are consistent, so the sale price, the loan and the rent all derive from one revaluation figure | S.91 §2.2 |
| Cash to find, by price (Plan) | £300,000 · £400,000 · £499,999 (the company's ceiling), the company as buyer, the bridge loan-to-value in force, every other Plan line as set, works held at the panel's budget. Cash to find = the cash in the bank on completion day, one definition on Hold and Bid: the bridge's set-up costs in it, its interest and exit not; a contingency held in reserve (Bid's 5%); the house's published buyer's fee; the legal lines from one 2026 purchase | S.91 §4.5, §7.2; S.97 §1.3 |
| Plan tab: bridge terms 18–24 months; buy-to-let rental cover 125–145%; auction deposit 10% and 28-day completion | General market knowledge, not quotes — the broker's questions (S.87 §4) | S.87 Thinking Note §4 |
| Buy-to-let pay rate and stress rate (Letting) | Two inputs, both 5.5% by default: the pay rate is what the loan costs; the stress rate is the lender's affordability test and is never paid. While both are 5.5% the letting net is pinned at a fixed share of rent (rent-limited loan × the same rate = rent ÷ 1.25) | S.93 §2.1 |
| Cash left in the property after the refinance; the return on it (Letting) | Own funds before the exit (the Plan panel) less the cash the refinance returns; the company's letting net after tax ÷ that figure, a year. Selling returns all the capital; letting returns part and parks the rest at this return until a sale | S.93 §2.1 |
| Sell or let — the decision rule | A per-property call at the end of the works: sell into a good price; otherwise refinance, let and sell later. Letting is the fallback that avoids a forced sale, not the return engine | S.93 §2.2 |
| Private-lender rate ladder (Plan): floor 3.75% | Bank Rate — Bank of England, held at 3.75% on 17 September 2026, read 4 October 2026 (next decision 5 November 2026). Ceiling = the page's own bridge line (pay rate a year plus the arrangement fee over the term). Quoted a year, paid for the months borrowed, term = the hold; the amount (£100,000 by default) is a round illustrative figure | S.93 §4.3; bankofengland.co.uk |
Not on this page by rule: any personal financial data, anything from a legal pack, any figure for a specific lot, any real date. The Greyhound purchase is not modelled here.
As held after the S.84 conversation, tested point by point (research, never advice).
Checked after the walkthrough against the gov.uk policy paper of 27 November 2025 (Autumn Budget 2025). Research, not advice.
| Said in conversation | Correct | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| SDLT at £499,999 in a company ≈ £37k; one pound more costs ~£48k | ≈ £40,000 (£15,000 ladder + £25,000 surcharge); £85,000 at £500,001 — jump ≈ £45,000 | Arithmetic slip; the point stands |
| Only property-developer relief disapplies the 17% | Relief also covers property rental businesses and property traders. Clawback if a connected person occupies within 3 years. A relieved company still pays ladder + 5%. A company holding a dwelling over £500k files ATED returns yearly, relief claimed on them | Material. A genuine letting or trading company may not face the cliff at all. The £500k ceiling stays the default until an accountant confirms relief |
| Corporation tax 25% | 25% main rate over £250k profit; 19% at or under £50k; marginal relief between. Limits divided by the number of associated companies — with Matador, £25k / £125k each | On £58k profit ≈ £11,600 alone (≈ 20%), ≈ £13,500 with two associated companies; the company keeps ≈ £44.5–46.4k of £58k, not £43.5k — the retain case is ~£11–13k better than personal (~£33.6k at 40% + 2% Class 4) |
| Dividends ~33.75% higher rate; director's-loan charge 33% | 35.75% upper rate from 6 April 2026; the s455 charge is tied to it, 35.75% | The extract-everything case ≈ £28.6–29.8k vs ~£33.6k personal — "the company loses if you extract" holds, slightly stronger |
| (not said) | From 6 April 2027 property income is taxed at 22 / 42 / 47%; the finance-cost credit moves to 22% | A personal BTL at higher rate: 42% on rent, 22% credit — the squeeze widens |
| (S.87) The £500k ceiling is "legislation, not judgement" | The 17% rate above £500k is legislation; relief for developers, traders and rental businesses can disapply it | £499,999 is the default max bid until an accountant confirms relief — a default, not a legal wall |
Matador vs a new company (a question for the accountant): the associated-company limits bite either way while both are controlled by the same person; holding property inside Matador would pool it with GeoPulse (losses could offset; a later sale or investment in either gets messy). The lean is a separate company, stated as a question, not a conclusion.
The working lean is a new limited company from the first purchase: salaried work pays the living; the company holds the property and compounds. A company costs more up front (the 17% stamp-duty rate at and above £500,000, accounts to file) and taxes money twice on the way out (corporation tax, then dividend or salary), so it suits profit left in to compound; personal suits a one-off where the cash comes out. Moving a property from a personal name into a company later is a sale to it — stamp duty again, possibly capital gains tax — so the wrapper is chosen per purchase, at the start.
Three ways, each taxed on extraction. Rental profit, drawn as dividends or salary. Refinancing a property that has risen in value releases cash into the company — that is borrowing, not income, but getting it to the owner is still an extraction (dividend, salary, or a director's loan with its own charge); the "tax-free refinance" is true only for property held personally. A sale — one property or the portfolio: corporation tax on the gain, then extraction. For the accountant: the extraction policy, and whether the company or the owner should hold a property meant to be sold soon.
Equity (deposit, stamp duty, fees, works) from the owner and possibly from family or private investors; borrowing (the bridge, then a buy-to-let loan) secured on the property. A new company has no track record, so lenders lean on the person behind it — a personal guarantee, and experience. An earlier owner-occupier remortgage is a genuine story to tell a lender, with the caveat that it was regulated lending; company bridging and buy-to-let are unregulated and priced differently. The broker prices it.
Standing rule: the solicitor before any approach to a private investor — an invitation to invest can be a financial promotion (FSMA 2000 s.21), and which exemption applies, if any, is the solicitor's call, never this page's. Money from a family member is simpler, not rule-free: documented as a loan or as equity before it moves. The Plan tab's Cash to find, by price is the figure those conversations start from.
The observation the whole plan rests on: auction lots can be bought below what they would be worth renovated. Whether to sell or to let is a per-property call at the end of the works, not decided now. Sell when the market gives a good price — it crystallises the gain and frees the whole capital to go again, which is the compounding engine. Otherwise refinance onto a buy-to-let, let, and sell later into a better market. Letting is the fallback that avoids a forced sale, not the return engine; holding has a cost — the cash left in the property after the refinance and the small return it earns (the Letting tab shows both) — so "wait for a better market" is a judgement each time, not a default. The hold route opens only once the works make the flat mortgageable. This is the standing hypothesis (two exits chosen at the end of the works) with the decision rule added.
Solicitor — structure, family capital, private investors, the company's documents, authority for whoever acts in the owner's absence. Accountant — company vs personal, extraction, the refinance-to-let exit inside a company. Broker — bridge terms for a new company, buy-to-let for a company, guarantees, what an earlier remortgage counts for. The questions in the next section are theirs; the briefs that carry them are later seats'.
These are the questions; the briefs that carry them are later seats' (ACCOUNTANT-BRIEF, SOLICITOR-BRIEF, BROKER-QUESTIONS). Never imply advice has been taken.
Hammerstone Hold · v6.1 · Auction Group · Matador Solutions Ltd. Sibling of Hammerstone Bid; consumes Bid's buyer profile when that exists, never defines it. One login with Bid, access decided per product; this page carries no real dates.