United Trust Bank (UTB) Bridging has revealed that more than half (52%) of its valuations for bridging loans are now delivered through automated valuation models (AVMs).

The firm said the use of AVMs rather than physical valuations delivers tangible benefits to brokers and customers.

UTB added that as well as being free of charge, AVMs have been a "significant factor" in its accelerated processing and shorter decision in principle to offer times.

In the last year, UTB Bridging has made several adjustments to its AVM criteria to enable more cases to benefit from their speed, with more customers benefiting from the cost savings and certainty provided at the earliest stage of an application.

Since the start of 2026, 52% of UTB Bridging’s loan applications have qualified for an AVM.

On UTB Bridging, AVMs are available for bridging loans up to 75% LTV, at loan sizes up to £1.25m and single property values of up to £2m.

Director of underwriting – bridging and buy-to-let at UTB, Gene Clohessy, said: "We place significant value on AVMs, and over the past year we have refined our AVM criteria to the extent that more than half of our bridging loan customers now benefit from the cost efficiencies, speed, and upfront certainty they provide.

"The increased utilisation of AVMs, combined with wider enhancements to our processing and underwriting, is enabling us to deliver faster decisions, and minimise delays from application through to completion. This continued improvement offers brokers even stronger justification for selecting UTB when they require a swift, competitive, and dependable service."

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