"The continued momentum we’re reporting in our quarterly data demonstrates the growing importance of bridging and development lending as a vital cog in the UK mortgage industry"
- Vic Jannels - BDLA
New data from the Bridging & Development Lenders Association (BDLA) has shown that the bridging sector is continuing to strengthen with increases in applications, completions and loan book values in Q3 compared to the previous quarter.
The figures, compiled by auditors from data provided by members of the BDLA, show that bridging completions grew to a new record of £1.79bn in Q3 this year, representing a 2.6% increase on the second quarter.
This helped to drive a 7.6% increase in the size of overall loan books, which have now exceeded £9bn for the first time, reaching £9.01bn.
The data also shows strong growth in pipeline business, with applications increasing by 6.7% in the third quarter to reach £10.9 billion.
Vic Jannels, CEO of the BDLA, says: “BDLA lending data for the third quarter of 2024 reflects the ongoing ascendency of our sector, with growth across the board and record values for completions and loan book sizes.
"The continued momentum we’re reporting in our quarterly data demonstrates the growing importance of bridging and development lending as a vital cog in the UK mortgage industry. As more brokers and borrowers recognise the many ways that bridging finance can help them achieve their goals, we can reasonably expect our sector to continue its upward trajectory.
"We’ll continue to report on this lending on a quarterly basis – we’ve streamlined the process to deliver information more quickly and, starting this quarter, we’re supporting our data release with a more detailed information factsheet.
“Of course, sustainable growth has to be the priority and, at the BDLA, we work with our members to promote responsible customer-centric underwriting through our membership rules and code of conduct.
"On top of this, we continue to promote the benefits of attaining the Certified Practitioner in Specialist Property Finance (CPSP) accreditation and we’re continually working with members on steps we can take to help tackle fraud, as well as our ongoing dialogue with regulators and policymakers.
"These efforts are all helping to raise standards and encourage robust lending, which is contributing to the sustainable growth we have seen in recent years and expect to see well into the future.”
