Development exit report · H1 2026

Dorset Development Exit Report, H1 2026

Who is lending to developers in Dorset, how many schemes are exiting their development loans, and how quickly new homes are selling. Built from Companies House charges, Land Registry sales and council planning data.

125
New development charges, 12 months to June 2026 (+42%)
77
Development loans filed as repaid, same 12 months
70.7%
Live development book over 24 months old (60.6% nationally)
642
New-build sales, latest settled 12 months (-3.7%)
Matt Lenzie
Written and reviewed by Matt Lenzie Founder & Principal Broker · 25 years arranging development finance · Reviewed September 2026
In short

The biggest move in Dorset over the year to June 2026: new development lending climbed 42% to 125 charges. Meanwhile bridging and specialist lending to development companies climbed 18.9% to 63 charges. The age of the local development book stands out: 70.7% of live charges are older than two years, against 60.6% for England and Wales. On the planning side, 316 residential applications were approved in the latest 12-month window across the 50% of the county we cover.

Scorecard

Dorset at a glance

How each signal moved over the year, measured the same way for every location we report on.

SignalDorsetChangeBasisDirection
New development charges125+42%12 months to June 2026 vs the 12 months beforeUp
Development charges satisfied (exits filed)77+2.7%12 months to June 2026 vs the 12 months before; recent filings provisionalFlat
Exit-type lending to developers63+18.9%bridging, specialist-bank and private-credit charges on development companiesUp
Live development book over 24 months old70.7%+10.1 ptsat 30 June 2026, compared with 60.6% across England and WalesAbove national
New-build sales registered642-3.7%settled 12 months (registration lag allowed for) vs the 12 months beforeFlat
New developer and property companies518-2.8%SIC 41100, 41202, 68100 by registered office; live register onlyFlat
Companies House · development lending

Development lending and exits in Dorset

Development lenders registered 125 new charges against sites and developers in Dorset in the 12 months to June 2026, against 88 in the 12 months before (+42%). Those charges were taken by 80 separate borrowing companies.

On the other side of the ledger, 77 development loans were filed as repaid: 0.62 repayments per new loan (England and Wales: 0.4). Exits are keeping up with new lending.

Typical loan life on repayment: 49.9 months at the median, longer than the 38.2 months of the prior year.

A charge is the security a lender registers at Companies House. It shows that a loan was taken and when it was repaid (satisfied), not how much was lent. Repayments are filed late, so the latest six months are provisional.

Dorset: development charges registered and satisfied by quarter, 2022 Q1 to 2026 Q2; faded bars are provisional because repayments are filed late
New development chargesSatisfied (loan repaid)
020406080New development charges, 2022 Q1: 32Satisfied, 2022 Q1: 152022New development charges, 2022 Q2: 36Satisfied, 2022 Q2: 11New development charges, 2022 Q3: 38Satisfied, 2022 Q3: 6New development charges, 2022 Q4: 29Satisfied, 2022 Q4: 23New development charges, 2023 Q1: 35Satisfied, 2023 Q1: 262023New development charges, 2023 Q2: 33Satisfied, 2023 Q2: 18New development charges, 2023 Q3: 18Satisfied, 2023 Q3: 10New development charges, 2023 Q4: 34Satisfied, 2023 Q4: 13New development charges, 2024 Q1: 33Satisfied, 2024 Q1: 142024New development charges, 2024 Q2: 42Satisfied, 2024 Q2: 19New development charges, 2024 Q3: 34Satisfied, 2024 Q3: 16New development charges, 2024 Q4: 22Satisfied, 2024 Q4: 7New development charges, 2025 Q1: 12Satisfied, 2025 Q1: 372025New development charges, 2025 Q2: 20Satisfied, 2025 Q2: 15New development charges, 2025 Q3: 27Satisfied, 2025 Q3: 11New development charges, 2025 Q4: 27Satisfied, 2025 Q4: 26New development charges, 2026 Q1: 31 (censored by registration lag)Satisfied, 2026 Q1: 23 (censored by registration lag)2026New development charges, 2026 Q2: 40 (censored by registration lag)Satisfied, 2026 Q2: 17 (censored by registration lag)

Companies House charge register, Construction Capital analysis

Companies House · exit-type lending

Bridging and specialist lending to Dorset developers

Bridging lenders, specialist banks and funds took 63 charges over Dorset development companies in the year to June 2026 (+18.9% on the 53 of the year before).

By lender type, bridging lenders led with 34. H1 2026 on its own: 39 (H1 2025: 24).

Exit-type lending counts charges registered by bridging lenders, specialist banks and private credit funds against companies whose registered business is developing buildings (SIC 41100 or 41202). It is the market that refinances development debt at completion and funds the sales period.

Dorset: exit-type lending to developers bridging, specialist-bank and private-credit charges on development companies, rolling four quarters
0204060802022 Q42023 Q42024 Q42026 Q2Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2022 Q4: 58Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2023 Q1: 61Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2023 Q2: 56Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2023 Q3: 47Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2023 Q4: 52Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2024 Q1: 60Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2024 Q2: 64Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2024 Q3: 72Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2024 Q4: 71Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2025 Q1: 56Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2025 Q2: 53Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2025 Q3: 53Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2025 Q4: 48Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2026 Q1: 54Exit-type charges, rolling 4Q, 2026 Q2: 63Charges 63

Companies House charge register, Construction Capital analysis

Companies House · lender categories

Who is lending in Dorset

Across all 1,443 charges registered against property in Dorset over the year, specialist lenders held 82.1% of those we can match to a lender type, against 88.4% nationally. Specialists are 6 points less prominent than nationally.

Lenders are grouped by category from the Construction Capital lender register and never named.

Who holds the charges: lender categories share of register-matched property charges, 12 months to June 2026
Specialist and challenger banksBridging lendersHigh-street banksDevelopment lenders, funds and other
DorsetDorset, Specialist and challenger banks: 57.0%57%Dorset, Bridging lenders: 22.5%23%Dorset, High-street banks: 17.7%18%Dorset, Development lenders, funds and other: 2.9%E and WE and W, Specialist and challenger banks: 60.5%61%E and W, Bridging lenders: 27.5%28%E and W, High-street banks: 11.5%12%E and W, Development lenders, funds and other: 0.5%

Companies House charge register, Construction Capital analysis

Land Registry · sales

How quickly new homes are selling

The settled Land Registry year to July 2025 shows 642 new homes sold in Dorset, compared with 667 in the year before. That is 5.1% of the market, against a national 8.3%.

New-build flats sold at a median £255,900, 24.5% above existing flats; new-build houses at £410,000, 7.9% above existing houses.

All residential sales totalled 12,298 in the settled 12 months to January 2026 (+4.1% on the year before).

Land Registry registers new-build plot sales up to a year after completion, so new-build figures use the latest settled 12 months. Prices are transaction-sample medians, not a like-for-like index.

Dorset: new-build sales registered by half-year; faded bars sit inside the registration lag and will rise
0200400600800New-build sales, 2022 H1: 4412022 H1New-build sales, 2022 H2: 5312022 H2New-build sales, 2023 H1: 4192023 H1New-build sales, 2023 H2: 3582023 H2New-build sales, 2024 H1: 3162024 H1New-build sales, 2024 H2: 3532024 H2New-build sales, 2025 H1: 2972025 H1New-build sales, 2025 H2: 138 (censored by registration lag)2025 H2New-build sales, 2026 H1: 5 (censored by registration lag)2026 H1

HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, Construction Capital analysis

Planning · pipeline

The next wave of schemes needing an exit

The approved pipeline in Dorset: 316 residential consents in the latest 12-month window (159 new build, 72 conversion, 49 other relevant), plus 126 pending.

Stated unit counts total 428 homes across 110 approvals, a floor rather than the full figure.

Not yet covered: Dorset.

Residential applications from council planning portals over each council's latest 12-month window. Unit counts are only stated on some applications, so unit totals are a floor.

Companies House · registrations

New developer companies

Company formation is an early pipeline signal: 518 new property and development companies in Dorset over the latest year, 248 registered as developers (SIC 41100 or 41202).

H1 2026 brought 243 against 307 in H1 2025.

Companies registered with SIC 41100, 41202 or 68100, placed by registered office. The register lists live companies only, so earlier periods lose companies since dissolved.

Benchmark

Dorset against England and Wales

MeasureDorsetChangeEngland and WalesChange
New development charges, 12 months125+42%9,544+11.7%
Development charges satisfied, 12 months77+2.7%3,785+21.1%
Live development book at 30 June 202668341,855
Share of live book over 24 months old70.7%60.6%
Exit-type lending to developers, 12 months63+18.9%5,241+3.4%
New-build sales, settled 12 months642-3.7%68,506-6.1%
New-build share of sales, settled 12 months5.1%8.3%
New developer and property companies, 12 months518-2.8%61,275+7%
What it means

What this means for developers exiting in Dorset

Up: new development lending, exit-type lending. Down: none.

An older-than-average book is the clearest local sign of schemes overrunning. Developers in that position usually refinance onto an exit facility or sell at a discount to clear senior debt.

Terms depend on the scheme, the sales evidence and the developer, and no finance is guaranteed. We are a finance broker, not a lender. Development exit finance for companies is unregulated lending.

Read how a development exit loan is sized, or compare the national picture in the Development Exit Demand Tracker. Local market detail sits on our development exit finance in Dorset page.

Methodology and sources

Companies House charges (security instruments, not loans: no amounts, LTVs or rates). Development lending = charges held by specialist development lenders, or by development-active mixed lenders where the borrower carries SIC 41100/41202, the charge wording names development land or a site, or the borrower is a newly incorporated (within 12 months) SIC 68100 company with no buy-to-let SIC (the same rule as the national Development Exit Demand Tracker). Exit-type lending to developers = charges registered by bridging, specialist-bank and private-credit (funder) lenders against companies carrying SIC 41100/41202. A charge is placed by its charged-property postcode, or failing that the borrower's registered office. 'Satisfied' is the filed repayment of a charge: the exit. Exit refinance events are new charges registered on the same title after a specialist development lender's charge was repaid or released (charge stacks, same-group and same-company pairs excluded). Satisfactions are filed late, so the most recent six months are provisional and will rise. Lender categories come from the Construction Capital lender register; lenders are never named.

Land Registry registers new-build plot sales up to a year after completion, so new-build counts, shares and premiums are read only over the settled 12 months ending a year before the data vintage (settled12m) and compared with the 12 months before that. New-build figures in the most recent windows are incomplete and are not used for any headline. HMLR Price Paid, standard (category A) residential sales (detached, semi, terraced, flat) in the location's local authorities. New-build premium compares the median new-build price with the median existing-stock price within flats and within houses; it is a transaction-sample median, not a constant-quality index. Registrations lag completions by weeks to months, so the most recent months (and new-build plots especially) understate final counts; trailing-12-month figures are the steadier read.

Residential planning applications (new build, conversion, prior approval, mixed use, HMO, demolition and rebuild) from the Construction Capital council-portal scrapes, one record set per authority, over each council's rolling 12-month scrape window. Unit counts are stated only on some applications, so totals undercount. Councils not yet scraped are listed as missing, never estimated.

New companies with SIC 41100, 41202 or 68100 by registered-office postcode. The register snapshot holds live companies only, so earlier windows lose companies since dissolved; read year-on-year change as indicative.

Data vintage: charges registered to 2026-07-31, satisfactions filed to 2026-08-03, company register snapshot 2026-08-01, Land Registry transactions to 2026-07-31. Area covered: Dorset, Bournemouth, Christchurch And Poole (local authority boundaries). Minimum sample 30. 7 cuts suppressed for sample size.

Sources: Companies House charge register, Construction Capital analysis; HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, Construction Capital analysis; Council planning portals, Construction Capital planning scrape. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Companies House data is public and reused under the Open Government Licence.

You are welcome to cite or chart these figures with a link to this page.

FAQ

Development exit in Dorset: common questions

How many developers borrowed in Dorset last year?

80 development companies registered 125 charges to development lenders in the 12 months to June 2026, and 77 development loans were filed as repaid over the same period.

How old are development loans in Dorset?

70.7% of the 683 development charges live in Dorset at the end of June 2026 had been in place for over two years, against 60.6% nationally.

What is development exit finance?

A short-term loan taken at or near practical completion. It repays the development lender and funds the sales or letting period, often at a lower rate than the development loan it replaces, and can release equity for the next scheme. Our development exit finance page covers how it is sized and priced.

Where does this data come from?

Companies House charges and company registrations, HM Land Registry Price Paid Data and council planning portals, all analysed by Construction Capital. Figures below the minimum sample of 30 are suppressed, and lenders are grouped into categories rather than named.

Completing a scheme in Dorset?

Send us the scheme, the current facility and the sales position and we will give a view on the exit options and indicative terms.