Specialist lender Masthaven Finance has reduced rates across its development finance range as part of a broader move to improve deal viability for developers.

Masthaven said the changes apply across light development, professional development, regulated self-build and development exit products, with pricing adjusted where it believes the impact on deal flow is greatest.

For light development cases, including large-scale extensions and changes of use from commercial to residential, rates have been reduced to 1.04% per month. The lender said the move is designed to improve affordability for smaller and mid-scale schemes.

Pricing for professional development aimed at SME developers has also been cut, with rates now starting from 1.09% per month. Masthaven said it will continue to offer funding of up to 100% of build costs on these cases.

Within the regulated self-build segment, rates have been reduced to 1.14% per month with no exits, while the development exit product is now priced from 0.89% per month up to 70% loan to gross development value. There are no exit fees across any of the products.

The development finance changes follow a series of bridging loan rate reductions announced by the lender earlier in the week.

Emmanuel Johnson (pictured), head of development finance at Masthaven Finance, said: “Each rate adjustment has been made where pricing has the greatest impact on deal flow, whether that’s during the build or at the point of exit.

“With competitive prices and robust underwriting, Masthaven Finance is well-positioned to support as many projects as possible in what we believe will be an important year for developments in the UK.

“We’ve been very deliberate in where we have made changes, ensuring brokers can deliver stronger outcomes for their developer clients without compromising on certainty or service.”