Yes, usually — bridging is the most forgiving corner of secured lending, because the decision rests on the property and the exit rather than a credit score. We've completed bridges for borrowers carrying CCJs, defaults, historic arrears and discharged bankruptcies. What matters is not whether your file is clean but whether the story behind it makes sense and the repayment route stands up.
What lenders actually read
Recency and relevance. A default from 2019 that's been settled says almost nothing about 2026. Missed payments on secured debt in the last twelve months say quite a lot — they suggest how you might treat this loan. Underwriters distinguish between a rough patch with an explanation (divorce, a business failure, a medical year) and a pattern of borrowing without repaying. One is priceable. The other is a decline almost everywhere.
How adverse credit changes the deal
Expect fewer lenders in appetite and slightly more conservative leverage — a lender who'd normally stretch to 75% may hold at 65–70% with meaningful adverse. Pricing moves a little, though less than people fear, because the security does the heavy lifting. The bigger effect is on the exit: if your plan is to refinance, adverse credit that blocks a term mortgage blocks the bridge too, since the exit just failed underwriting. Sale exits are far more forgiving of a scruffy file.
The one rule: disclose first
Every credit file gets read eventually. Adverse credit disclosed on day one is a pricing conversation; adverse credit discovered on day nine is a trust problem, and trust problems kill deals that numbers would have survived. Tell your broker everything, including the embarrassing bits — early disclosure may save you costs later, and it always saves time.
Write the paragraph yourself: what happened, when, why it won't recur, and what you've repaid since. A borrower who owns their history reads as lower risk than one who hopes nobody checks. Underwriters are human; candour lands.