The ASTL’s 23 lenders, which is not whole of market, advanced £281m in loans in the three months to June, compared to £283m in the first quarter of the year.
Applications rose by 5.3%. At £1.28bn, the value of applications was 15% higher than the previous quarter.
Commercial Mortgage Desk sales and marketing head Ann-Marie O’Neill said the bridging market had become more competitive: “We now have a lot more choices of bridgers therefore bridging finance is much more competitive which in turn makes it cheaper and a viable proposition for a lot of clients.”
Buy-to-let and commercial investors are increasingly interested in buying properties at auction and doing them up, she added, which drove demand for bridging loans.
Capital Bridging managing director Keith Aldridge said his firm had seen volumes 80% higher in the first half of 2013 than the same time last year: “It doesn’t surprise me that the bridging market is still expanding in the short to medium term. I think the growth will continue to be there.”
ASTL chief executive Benson Hersch (pictured) said the figures revealed the on-going need for bridging finance: ““As well as for traditional purposes of bridging the gap between when people sell one property and buy another, it is clear that bridging and other alternative funding methods are increasingly being used by SMEs to meet their funding requirements.
“Members report steady demand in the current quarter and I expect the next quarter’s figures, to continue to show the same increase.”
