ASTL members’ value of bridging loans exceed £3 billion

Members of ASTL have written approximately £3 billion worth of bridging loans in the last year, up from £2.8 billion for the year ending June 21 2016.

The figures for Q2 2017 are assembled by the ASTL’s auditors from its bridging lender members and are showing no signs of slowdown.

This quarter showed record highs for loans written of £875 million while applications received totalled £4.9 billion. Total loan books have risen up to 5.8% compared to 31 March and 10.6% up on 30 June last year, but the pattern remains irregular.

Benson Hersh, CEO of the ASTL, said: “The increase in positivity shown by members in a recent sentiment survey seems to be reflected in the latest figures.”

“It remains to be seen how the ebb and flow of Brexit negotiations will affect the sector, but the market remains good for the time being.”

The value of bridging loans written increased 12.1% on Q1 2017 and up by 17.8% on Q1 2016. Comparing the year ending June 2017 to June 2016, the loans written showed a 6.7% growth.

The pace of this increase in applications has grown a whopping 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year, while the figures for the year ending June 2017 show an even greater increase of 56.6% compared to year ending June 2016.

Hersh added: “Barring unexpected jolts to the economy, I expect a period of consolidation ahead, especially with the increasing likelihood of interest rate rises.”