According to the trade association, bridging completions passed £1.4bn in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 11.8 per cent on the December 2022 quarter.
Quarter ended 31 Mar 2023 compared to Quarter ended 31 Dec 2022 | Quarter ended 31 Mar 2023 compared to Quarter ended 31 Mar 2022 | Year ended 31 Mar 2023 compared to Year ended 31 Mar 2022 | |
Loans written (£) | +11.8% | +36.3% | +20.4% |
Loan book (£)* | +4.0%* | +52.1%* | +52.1%* |
Applications (£) | +13.1% | +54.3% | (0.9)% |
*As at the end of the period
Compiled by auditors from data provided by members of the ASTL, the figures showed that applications also edged upwards, reaching £9.8bn during the quarter.
This represented a 13.1 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter.
Likewise, the value of loan books also increased, up by 4 per cent to a high of just over £6.8bn.
Commenting on the data, ASTL chief executive Vic Jannels said demand for bridging loans has not been affected by the “somewhat indifferent performance of the economy”.
He noted that short-term finance continues to demonstrate that it can provide a versatile source of funding during all economic cycles.
“Given the ongoing challenging economic environment, it’s important that lenders continue to take a robust approach to underwriting to help ensure the market continues to grow in a cautious and sustainable way so that it can help even more customers to finance transitional periods in the future,” Jannels said.
jane.matthews@ft.com
