Development appraisal template, the one page a lender reads first.
Land, build, fees, finance, profit on cost, and the two caps that size the facility: loan to GDV and loan to cost. Fill the yellow cells and see which one binds, how much equity you need, and whether the margin is fundable, before you spend anything on a valuation.
By Dominic Whitecross, Co-Founder, HyLend. Last reviewed September 2026.
Get the template
Name and email, and the file is on its way. We use the email to send the link and, if you tick the box, occasional deal notes from the broking desk. Nothing else, and one click to stop.
What the template does
It reproduces the first pass a senior development lender makes on any scheme. You enter the site price, build cost, contingency, fees, statutory costs and gross development value, plus the finance assumptions. It calculates total cost, then sizes the facility twice, as 65% of GDV and as 85% of cost by default, and takes the lower. The gap between that facility and total cost including finance is the equity you fund.
Interest is estimated on an average drawn balance rather than on the full facility, because that is how development interest is actually charged, and the template says so on the sheet.
The worked example in the file
| Line | Example | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Total cost before finance | £2,915,000 | Land, build with contingency and fees, CIL, sales costs |
| Facility by loan to GDV (65% of £4m) | £2,600,000 | The GDV cap |
| Facility by loan to cost (85%) | £2,477,750 | The cost cap, and here it binds |
| Total finance cost | £299,000 | Rolled interest on drawn balance plus fees |
| Profit on cost | 24.5% | Comfortably fundable |
| Equity you fund | £735,819 | Before recognising land or planning spend already committed |
Change the GDV to £3.6m and watch the binding cap switch to loan to GDV, the equity rise, and the margin fall. That is the whole lesson of development finance in one cell.
How lenders read the output
- Which cap binds. On a healthy margin it is loan to cost. On a thin one it is loan to GDV, and the equity requirement jumps. How much equity development finance needs →
- Profit on cost. Most senior lenders want 17% to 20% or more. Below that, the answer is more equity, a mezzanine slice, or a different scheme.
- Equity versus cash. The equity line is what you must contribute. How much of it is cash depends on whether the lender recognises land you already own and planning spend already paid, which the right lender does.
What it does not do
No month by month cash flow, no drawdown timing, no sales phasing, no sensitivity table. The detailed appraisal template does all four. Development appraisal, detailed →
Development Appraisal (Basic) FAQs
Is this development appraisal template really free?
Yes. It is a standard Excel file with live formulas and no macros, no password and no lock. We ask for your name and email to send it, and you can opt in or out of our monthly deal notes separately. The figures you enter stay on your machine; nothing in the file reports back to us.
What loan to GDV and loan to cost should I use?
The defaults are 65% of GDV and 85% of cost, which is where most senior development lenders sit in September 2026. Some stretch to 70% and 90%, and mezzanine behind a senior facility can take combined leverage higher. Both are inputs, so test the scheme at the levels a specific lender has quoted.
Why is the interest lower than the rate times the facility?
Because development interest is charged on the drawn balance, not the facility, and the balance builds over the programme as works are certified. The template applies an average utilisation, 60% by default, to reflect a typical staged drawdown. The detailed template models the actual monthly balance instead.
What profit on cost does a lender need to see?
Most senior lenders look for 17% to 20% or more on cost. Below that the scheme is exposed to a modest cost overrun or a small valuation shortfall, and lenders price or decline accordingly. The template shows the figure in the Result block and flags the threshold in the note beside it.
Can I use it for a commercial development?
Yes, with one caution. Commercial GDV is usually assessed on income and yield rather than comparable sales, so the GDV you enter should be the investment value a valuer would support, and pre lets change it materially. The arithmetic of the caps is the same.