Bridging lending rebounds to break £1bn in Q2

The figure was a 12 per cent bounce back after a downturn in the early part of 2019 which saw just £899m of completions.

The £1.004bn of new completions in Q2 was 4.1 per cent up on the same period in 2018.

Increases in lenders’ overall loan books were also prevalent in the ASTL figures.

It noted that bridging loan books grew to a record £4.62bn at the end of the second quarter, representing growth of 11.7 per cent compared to Q1 2019 and up 14.4 per cent on the same quarter last year.

Application volumes were more mixed with a record total of £22.13bn received in the 12 months to the end of June, representing a 9.7 per cent increase on the same period to June 2018.

However, applications dipped four per cent on the first quarter of the year to hit £5.69bn, although this was still 5.3 per cent more than in the same three months last year.

ASTL CEO Benson Hersch (pictured) was highly positive about the state of the market.

“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,” he said.

“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,” he added.