ROUND-TABLE
MARKET
THE STATUS QUO AND BEYOND FOR THE BRIDGING MARKET When it comes to bridging, nothing’s standing still
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he pandemic is now gradually receding from everyday life, but it has left behind a sizeable imprint on the UK mortgage market. In association with Lendinvest, Mortgage Introducer brought together experts from Mint Property Finance, Sancus Lending, Movin Legal, Castle Trust Bank, Together, and LendInvest itself to share their verdicts on the current situation and what directions they foresee the bridging market heading in. COVID-19 AFTERMATH There was seemingly no sector of the economy that didn’t have to recalibrate due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. Robert Oliver, sales director at Castle Trust Bank, is clear that this has tipped the balance toward bridging, as investors are facing new challenges and are looking for different solutions post-COVID. “Six or seven months ago we had a lot of landlords coming to us looking for out-of-town developments, looking for semi-rural properties to convert either into holiday lets or into HMOs, because they saw the migration of people out of the cities. What we’re seeing now is the holiday let market is very much segmenting, so we’re seeing the high-end holiday market, the £3,000-£5,000-plus a week market, is absolutely flying,” he said. Oliver also explained how that has coincided with a noticeable shift toward bridging. “Property is always going to be a safe investment, but we are seeing a swing to the bridge now, as bridging is not only more affordable than it’s ever been, but also it’s more flexible, it’s more of an accepted way to finance an actual development, and it gives you the flexibility to either exit some or exit others. It’s all about the exit, we know that, but now it allows the broker to offer clients more flexibility in what they do. We’re seeing it across the board – that the market is increasing, particularly in those areas.” That sentiment chimes with Richard White, UK sales
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BRIDGING INTRODUCER JUNE 2022
director for Sancus Lending, who is dealing with a vast number of properties that landlords or investors want to alter, a situation forced on them by the pandemic. He said, “I think it has had a big impact on people’s needs and requirements from bridging products. Nearly 90 per cent of the enquiries we get now on what we consider to be bridging loans involve some sort of change to the property from the state [in which] it has been acquired to the state at the end of the loan term.” It’s a similar story from specialist account manager at Together Michelle Walsh. Her attention was
“We’re seeing [that] the highend holiday market, the £3,000£5,000-plus a week market, is absolutely flying” ROBERT OLIVER
sharpened thanks to the stamp duty holiday, which the government introduced to help buyers as the pandemic raged on. She said, “On regulated bridging, during the pandemic we had this stamp duty tax release so there was a certain period when property transactions needed to complete at speed. The high street lenders at the time either weren’t wholly back to fully lending or they were suffering from severe delays, so regulated bridging was certainly needed.” Walsh also saw close-up an increase in bridging as people frantically moved to accommodate the new acceptance of working from home. “We saw that a lot in the regulated bridging space, too – customers looking to either downsize or potentially upsize to a property that has more space to be able to work from home and have that outdoor space as well,” she said. “The beauty of the bridging market is we can www.sfintroducer.com
