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Bridging loan applications up 17%

Bridging loan applications in the third quarter of 2019 were up almost 17% year-on-year standing at £6.1bn.

According to figures compiled by auditors from data provided by members of the Association of Short-Term Lenders (ASTL), year-on-year annual applications hit nearly £23bn while completions remained at more than £4bn.

Q3 completions stood at nearly £940m, a decrease of 2% on the same period last year, although year-on-year completions were up by 1%.

At the end of the third quarter, bridging loan books totalled £4.3bn, a reduction of 6% compared to last quarter, but an increase of more than 5% on the same period last year.

Benson Hersch, CEO of the ASTL, said: “This is another strong set of results for the bridging sector. Applications for loans have increased even more steeply than completions, with a staggering record £6.1 bn figure for Q3 2019.

“This can possibly be ascribed to intermediaries approaching more lenders, or to new lenders getting their part of the pie.

“Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that the sector is in rude health and estimates of total loans written for the year in excess of £6bn seem to be on the money.

“Year-on-year figures from the data survey show annual completions by members currently at more than £4bn, and they are on an upward curve.

“Back in September 2012, total lending was £885m, with the billion mark being reached at the end of the following quarter.

“This is my final set of quarterly figures as CEO of the ASTL, and it gives me a great sense of pleasure and achievement to leave the industry in such a strong position. It is not, however, the time for complacency.

“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 Ryan Fowler 

Source: Mortgage Introducer

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Bridging sector in ‘rude health’ according to ASTL

Applications for bridging loans soared in the third quarter of the year rising more steeply than completions, new figures revealed.

Data released today by the Association of Short-Term Lenders (ASTL) showed bridging loan applications increased by 17% when compared to the same quarter last year.

Indeed, year-on-year annual applications hit nearly £23 billion and completions remained at more than £4 billion.

However, it also revealed the value of completions in Quarter Three (Q3) dipped by 2% on the same period last year, to nearly £940 million. Year-on-year completions went up by 1%.

At the end of the third quarter, bridging loan books totalled £4.3bn, a reduction of 6% compared to last quarter, but an increase of more than 5% on the same period last year.

Applications for loans increased even more steeply than completions, with what the ASTL described as a ‘staggering’ record £6.1 billion figure for Q3 2019

Benson Hersch, CEO of the ASTL, described the data as ‘another strong set of results’ for the bridging sector attributing the rise in applications to either intermediaries approaching more lenders, or to new lenders getting their part of the pie.

“Whatever the reason,” he added, “there is no doubt that the sector is in rude health and estimates of total loans written for the year in excess of £6 billion seem to be on the money.

“Year-on-year figures from the data survey show annual completions by members currently at more than £4bn, and they are on an upward curve. Back in September 2012, total lending was £885 million, with the billion mark being reached at the end of the following quarter.”

These quarterly figures will be the last set Hersch will preside over as CEO of the ASTL, having announced his departure, which will be effective in the new year.

He added: “It gives me a great sense of pleasure and achievement to leave the industry in such a strong position.

“It is not, however, the time for complacency. 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 Kate Saines

Source: Mortgage Finance Gazette

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Bridging lending breaks new records in Q2 2019

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

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Bridging applications hit record value in Q1 2019

Bridging loan applications totalled more than £5.96bn in the first quarter of this year, representing growth of 13.6% compared to Q4 2018 and an increase of 6.9% on the same quarter last year.

The Association of Short-Term Lenders (ASTL) found applications for the year ending March 2019 were £21.8bn.

Benson Hersch (pictured), chief executive of the ASTL, said: “The results for Q1 2019 were a mixed bag. For completions, this was the lowest result since Q3 2017.

“On the other hand, the loan book total is the highest since Q1 2018 and the applications were the highest ever. We would expect this high value of completions to result in improved completions in Q2 2019.”

Bridging lender loan books reached £4.14bn in Q1 2019, up 7.9% from Q4 2018, although slightly down on the same period last year.

The value of completions during Q1 2019 was £898.5m, representing a 13.1% decrease on the same period last year.

Included in the figure for bridging completions was £92m of development loans. In addition to this, ASTL members wrote a further £206.6m of non-bridging development loans, making a total of £236.9m.

By Michael Lloyd

Source: Mortgage Introducer