Orton Financial obtained figures from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which showed that during the period, £471.4m in regulated residential bridging was completed over 1,052.
Although bridging loans worth more than £1m made up less than a tenth of advances at just 93 completions, the value of these totalled £202.7m, representing 43% of the market’s value.
This represented 1,052 loans in the first three months of the year and 93 of those were worth more than £1m, accounting for less than a tenth of all loans completed.
Orton Financial said this suggested high-net-worth (HNW) individuals were using bridging finance to manage complex and time-sensitive property transactions.
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A growing market
Orton Financial’s analysis also pointed to growth in the market since 2021, with the number of regulated residential bridging loan completions rising from 2,134 five years ago to 4,249 in 2025, a 99% rise.
This rate of growth was replicated in the value of advances, which rose from £862.9m to over £1.72bn.
Further, there has been a rise in high-value bridging loan activity, as the number of loans above £1m advanced increased from 170 in 201 to 321 in 2025. The combined value of this business increased from £293.9m to £607.9m, representing an 89% rise in the number of loans and a 107% lift in the total value.
Bridging must be a considered option
Luther Yeates, head of mortgages at Orton Financial, said: “Bridging finance is not new, and it will not be appropriate for every borrower or every property transaction. But it should be considered as part of the wider range of options available to HNW clients.
“People assume that someone with significant wealth should be able to complete a property purchase without difficulty. In reality, their financial circumstances can be considerably more complicated than those of a conventional borrower.”
He said some clients might own multiple properties, invest in a business or portfolio and receive income from different countries, making them wealthy on paper but not have the funds available to complete a property transaction.
Yeates added: “That distinction between overall wealth and immediately accessible liquidity is particularly important in the prime property market.”
He said HNW buyers may lean on bridging loans to complete the purchase of a home before their previous property has sold, to secure a property within a strict deadline, refinance a mortgage or fund a purchase while a more complex, long-term mortgage is arranged.
Bridging loans can also be used for renovations before a property qualifies for traditional mortgage lending.
“Bridging can be extremely useful in the right circumstances, but it needs to form part of a considered financial strategy rather than being treated as a last-minute fix,” Yeates added.
