Along with these expectations for a buoyant year, bridging lenders believe the market is more likely to see competition increase in the next six months.

And perhaps unsurprisingly given the current housing market, they are more confident in the sector than the UK economy as a whole.

According to the survey of members of the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL), 87 per cent of bridging lenders think the turnover of their business will grow in the next six months and 77 per cent expect the turnover of the wider bridging sector to increase.

This compares positively to the last survey in July 2020, when only 41 per cent of respondents anticipated the turnover of their business would shrink in the following six months, and 36 per cent predicted the turnover of the wider bridging sector would fall.

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While the largest group of respondents at 47 per cent believe bridging market competition will be largely unchanged in the next six months, a similar number 43 per cent believe it will increase – potentially indicating a drive to lower rates or more lenders entering.

Only 10 per cent of lenders expect a decrease in competition by the autumn.

Vic Jannels, CEO at the ASTL, said: “This latest sentiment survey of the ASTL’s members is an important one as it gives us an opportunity to take a step back and reflect on the year we have been through.

“The significant increase in positivity compared to last summer reflects not only the general optimism about the rollout of the vaccination programme, but also the way that bridging lenders have been able to evolve and adapt to the changing environment.

“The sector is in a strong position to continue to support the recovery with fast, flexible short-term lending to meet the diverse needs of a range of customers.”