Secured Lending Valuations
Independent RICS Red Book valuations for loan security — residential, commercial and development assets across London, Surrey and Sussex. Reported by RICS Registered Valuers, for lenders who need a figure they can rely on.
What is a secured lending valuation?
A secured lending valuation is an independent Red Book valuation of a property that is being offered as security for a loan. The lender needs to know what the asset is genuinely worth — and what would happen to that value if they ever had to recover it — before advancing funds.
It is a formal, regulated piece of work, not a market appraisal or an agent’s opinion. The report is prepared for a stated purpose and a stated party, in accordance with the RICS Valuation – Global Standards (the ‘Red Book’), and it carries professional liability. That is precisely why lenders insist on it.
We act for banks and specialist lenders, and for borrowers and brokers who need a compliant valuation to progress a facility. Our RICS Registered Valuers work across residential, commercial and development assets.
Assets we value
We cover the full spread of security types, from single flats to mixed portfolios and part-built development schemes.
Residential
Houses, flats, HMOs, buy-to-let and portfolio lending — including leasehold considerations that affect security value.
Commercial
Office, retail and industrial assets, valued with regard to tenant covenant, lease terms and unexpired term.
Development
Sites and part-complete schemes, including market value in current condition and, where instructed, gross development value.
Mixed-use
Blocks combining retail or office with residential above — valued as a whole and, where needed, on a broken-up basis.
Portfolios
Multi-asset lending, reported consistently across the portfolio so the security position can be compared like for like.
Refinance & review
Revaluations for facility renewal, LTV covenant testing and periodic review of existing security.
Secured Lending Valuation London
Our RICS-registered valuers provide independent secured lending valuations for financial institutions and borrowers across London and Sussex. We deliver formal Red Book risk assessments.
Independent RICS Red Book Valuations for Banks
We provide robust mortgage valuations for residential and commercial real estate assets, assessing local market dynamics and property conditions to support banks and lenders in making informed credit decisions.
Red Book compliant — and what that actually means
Every secured lending valuation we produce is prepared under the RICS Valuation – Global Standards, the current edition of which took effect on 31 January 2025 and incorporates the International Valuation Standards.
Valuations for loan security are governed specifically by VPGA 2 — Valuation of interests for secured lending. In practice, that means the report must deal properly with:
- Independence, objectivity and conflicts of interest — disclosed and managed before the instruction is accepted.
- Instructions and disclosures — a clear scope, agreed in writing, including where a master service agreement is in place.
- Basis of value and any special assumptions — stated explicitly, with comment on any material difference between the value reported with and without a special assumption.
- Reporting requirements — including the matters a lender needs in order to make a lending decision.
If a report doesn’t address those points, it isn’t a compliant secured lending valuation — whatever it is labelled.
Independence you can actually rely on
Secured lending is the one valuation discipline where the commercial pressures are structural. The valuer reports to the lender, but the fee is usually funded by the borrower — and the borrower has a direct interest in a higher figure, whether to increase the advance or to stay the right side of an LTV covenant.
We manage that head-on. Conflicts are checked and disclosed before we accept an instruction, and we decline work where an unmanageable conflict exists — for example where we are already advising the borrower or broker on the same asset. Where a lender applies additional independence criteria of its own, we work to those too.
The point of an independent valuation is that it holds up when it is tested. That is the only kind worth commissioning.
What to expect
1. Instruction & scope
We confirm the addressee, purpose, basis of value and any special assumptions in writing, and complete conflict checks before starting.
2. Inspection
A full inspection of the security, recording condition, configuration, tenure and anything that could affect value or saleability.
3. Analysis & evidence
Comparable evidence, market analysis and, where relevant, tenancy and development appraisal — all documented in the report.
4. Red Book report
A clear, compliant report the lender can act on, delivered to agreed timescales, with our valuer available for follow-up queries.
Who we act for
Banks & building societies
Panel and ad-hoc instructions for mainstream secured lending across residential and commercial security.
Bridging & development finance
Short-term and development lenders needing current value, GDV and a realistic view of exit.
Brokers & borrowers
Where a compliant valuation is needed to progress a facility — prepared to the same independent standard.
As a multi-disciplinary practice we also bring in-house building surveying expertise. On development facilities we act as independent monitoring surveyor, and we provide commercial valuations, residential valuations and reinstatement cost assessments where a lender needs them alongside the security valuation.
Frequently asked questions
A mortgage valuation is a lender’s basic check that a residential property is adequate security. A secured lending valuation is a full Red Book valuation prepared under VPGA 2, with a defined scope, stated basis of value and professional liability — used across residential, commercial and development lending where the sums and the risks are greater.
The report is normally addressed to the lender, because it is prepared for their lending decision. Reliance is a matter of the agreed terms — if additional parties need to rely on it, that must be agreed in writing at the instruction stage rather than assumed afterwards.
No. It is common for the borrower to fund the fee while the valuer reports to the lender, and VPGA 2 exists partly to manage exactly that tension. Our duty is to the stated client and the standard — the figure is the figure.
Yes. We value sites and part-complete schemes, reporting market value in existing condition and, where instructed, gross development value and value on special assumptions relevant to the facility.
An assumption that differs from the facts at the valuation date — for example that a planning consent has been granted or works completed. Where one is used it must be stated clearly, and we comment on any material difference between the value with and without it.
It depends on the asset and the scope, but we agree timescales at the instruction stage and work to lender deadlines. Get in touch with the property details and we will confirm a realistic turnaround.
Your key contact
Simon Ly MRICS MNAEA MARLA MTPI
Director | Chartered Surveyor & RICS Registered Valuer
Need a Red Book valuation for loan security?
Talk to our RICS Registered Valuers. Independent, Red Book compliant, and delivered to lender timescales — across London, Surrey and Sussex, and the wider UK.
London: 107–111 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2AB · Sussex: Curtis House, 34 Third Avenue, Hove BN3 2PD