Bridging loan books grew to a record £4.62 billion at the end of the second quarter of this year, according to the Association of Short-Term Lenders (ASTL).
This represents growth of 11.7% compared to the first quarter of the year and an increase of 14.4% on the same quarter in 2018.
Bridging loan applications also hit a record total in the 12 months preceding the end of Q2 2019, with £22.13 billion of applications representing a 9.7% increase on the same period the previous year.
The figures were compiled by auditors from data provided by members of ASTL, which confirmed that more than £1 billion of bridging loans were written in the second quarter of this year, an increase of 11.8% on the previous quarter and a rise of 4.1% on the same period last year.
There were £5.69 billion of bridging loan applications in Q2 2019, which is 4% lower than the first quarter of the year but 5.3% more than the same period in 2018.
Benson Hersch, CEO of the ASTL, said: “The second quarter of this year has delivered some very strong results for bridging lending, with record values both for applications over a 12-month period and total outstanding loan books. In fact, nearly all measures were higher than last quarter and the same period in 2018.
“The wider political and economic environment remains uncertain and the challenge for the industry now is to continue this level of activity whilst maintaining high standards of underwriting and customer focus.”
By Joanne Atkin
Source: Mortgage Finance Gazette