The value of bridging finance is growing

The UK has seen a significant upturn in the property market in the last twelve months and is set to continue into 2015. Every month, figures from the CML and the Bank of England reported an increase in both lending and house purchases. This has followed through to bridging and commercial lending and there is a significant and growing demand for bridging finance across the UK. The Association of Short Term Lenders reported recently that bridging and short term lending is up by 41 per cent, year-on-year and is still rising in 2015.

Demand is strongest in London, but we have seen an increase in demand for loans across the whole of the UK and into many cities in Wales. Most of the demand has been from developers looking for finance to expand their property portfolios, or to redevelop existing property. For this type of borrower, mainstream borrowing does not fulfil their needs and they are looking to bridging finance to fill the gap.

As property prices rise year on year, many developers feel a sense of added urgency to buy the property they have sourced as quickly as possible, before prices rise further or before it is bought by another interested party.

Baring this in mind, not many mainstream lenders can turn the request around quickly enough and often they are just not prepared to lend on this sort of development. This is where more bespoke, specialist, bridging lenders can look at each loan request on an individual basis and still turn the application around in days, rather than weeks. Call us now if we can be of assistance to your growing business.