Commercial Finance
Majority of brokers feel confident about business in 2020 – Shawbrook
Some 53 per cent of commercial brokers feel confident about business growth next year while 67 per cent are optimistic about the lending environment, according to research by Shawbrook Bank.
The lender’s Broker Barometer found that given the current political climate, 25 per cent of the 169 commercial brokers questioned saw no change in business volumes in 2019, suggesting they had not been impacted by the adversity surrounding Brexit.
A quarter of respondents said they had seen a 10 per cent increase in business volumes over the year, while 22 per cent saw a 20 per cent rise, up from the 18 per cent of brokers who reported the same growth in 2018.
Furthermore, 62 per cent of brokers said they had seen investors diversifying into the commercial property market.
The top three challenges that the commercial mortgage brokers surveyed expected their businesses to face in 2020 were the impact of Brexit (58 per cent), valuation issues (53 per cent) and lending restrictions (36 per cent).
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Emma Cox, sales director for commercial mortgages said: “Despite the broker community showing some concern around the impact of Brexit as the deadline draws near, their confidence in business and the commercial property market for 2020 is still high.
“As stated in our UK Commercial Property Market Report, there is still opportunity for experienced investors to grow and diversify their portfolios, providing they do their homework and seek appropriate advice.
She added: “Clearly the impact of Brexit is unpredictable outside of the standard uncertainty commentary, but there is still opportunity to grow, as the barometer results show, with many brokers reporting an increase in business volumes.
“As we have always stated, longevity and sustainability of market are key, and investors who work with experts across the lender and broker spectrum will be best placed to take advantage of future value that presents itself.”