At a London dinner on 7th June 2018, over 600 members of bridging, commercial, development and alternative finance lenders came together to celebrate the success of the sector. The occasion was the Bridging and Commercial Awards 2018.
The reason to celebrate was because figures from the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL) revealed that short term lending is worth
£3.8 billion in 2018. Of the members surveyed by the ASTL, 63% predicted that the bridging sector would grow during the rest of 2018.
The awards dinner also raised money for Depaul, a homeless charity. Awards were given to people who had made an outstanding contribution to the alternative financial sector.
The awards dinner highlights the growing acceptance of bridging finance. A once niche lending product, bridging finance is now used for a number of reasons including building development, raising capital for business, paying unexpected tax bills, settling inheritance tax and completing house purchases at auctions. Individuals continue to use bridging loans to buy a new house if the sale of their existing home has been delayed.
Because of fierce competition between lenders, interest rates and fees have been kept low. Many lenders offer incentives such as free valuations and reduced fees. Because there are so many loan products available, a bridging finance broker is vital for finding the best deals. They will be able to source loans from specialist lenders such as ones that focus on property auction finance or those that provide short-term loans for building developers.
