There have been many changes to the bridging finance sector in recent years, but the bridging finance sector has taken them in its stride. As mentioned in a July 2017 MortgageIntroducer.com article, in the last 18 months, a number of lenders have entered the bridging finance market for the first time. There is fierce competition between bridging lenders and some lenders have pulled out of the market to focus on other finance areas. The ones that remain tend to be well-established specialist lenders who are reliable and provide high-quality customer service. The bridging finance sector remains buoyant. There was a lull in lending activity following the Brexit vote, but lending has bounced back. This has been helped by low interest rates, and the speed and flexibility of bridging loans. Many specialist bridging lenders are well funded, which means that they do not need to refer to external credit controllers when considering loan applications. This can speed up the approval of loan applications. Repayment arrangements can formalised with closed bridging loans or can be more flexible for open bridging finance. There are many situations where a high street mainstream lender will not be able to provide funds. As bridging finance is more flexible, loans can often be arranged in situations where mainstream lenders will refuse applications. A good bridging broker will know a variety of bridging finance lenders and can recommend the best one for an individual borrower’s needs. There is still economic uncertainty because of the Brexit negotiations, but the bridging finance sector is in a strong position to adapt to any changes in the UK economy.
May 10, 2022
