Dev Finance Glossary · UK

Ratios & metrics

Loan to Gross Development Value (LTGDV)

The size of a development loan expressed as a percentage of the projected value of the finished scheme — not the value today.

Loan to Gross Development Value (LTGDV) is the ratio a development lender cares about most. It expresses the senior loan (and sometimes junior debt combined) as a percentage of the Gross Development Value (GDV) — what the lender’s valuer believes the finished scheme will be worth when the last unit sells.

The formula

LTGDV = (Total facility) ÷ (Gross Development Value) × 100

If you are raising £7m against a valuer-agreed GDV of £10m, your LTGDV is 70%.

Typical UK ranges in 2026

  • Senior development debt sits in the 60–70% LTGDV range for most high-street and specialist lenders. A small number of aggressive specialists will stretch to 72–75% on strong sponsors and locations.
  • Stretched senior (senior + mezzanine blended into one facility) commonly reaches 80% LTGDV.
  • Senior + separate mezzanine can push the combined capital stack to 85–90% LTGDV, with mezz sitting behind the senior charge.

Why lenders use LTGDV, not LTV

LTV makes sense for a completed asset — the value exists today. For a scheme that hasn’t been built, “today’s value” is usually just the land. LTGDV lets a lender size a loan against what the project will be worth once built, which is how development facilities actually get repaid (via sales or a term refinance).

What goes into the GDV number

The GDV your lender underwrites is rarely the figure in your appraisal. The valuer will test:

  • Comparable sales of genuinely similar completed units within a defensible radius
  • Net-of-incentive pricing (strip out deposit contributions, cashbacks, stamp duty paid)
  • Block discounts for large multi-unit schemes vs. retail sale prices
  • Rental yields and investor-buyer discounts for BTR or PBSA

If the valuer comes in below your appraisal, your LTGDV ratio drops and so does the loan amount — which is how most late-stage funding surprises happen.

Getting LTGDV numbers that actually hold up

  • Build the stack from the valuer’s likely GDV, not your internal forecast.
  • Model a 5% and a 10% GDV-down sensitivity — lenders will.
  • Keep a contingency line inside the loan (5–7.5% of build costs is standard) so you’re not re-negotiating mid-build.

See also