Almost half of brokers operating in the specialist lending space think development finance is now “hotter” than the bridging loan market, according to a poll of intermediaries carried out by TAB.

The short-term property finance lender polled the views of brokers in the industry at an event to mark the opening of its new HQ in Hertfordshire.

While two in every five brokers (38%) told TAB they preferred the bridging loan market, almost half (46%) told the lender that they favoured the development finance market. One in seven (15%) of the bridging introducers polled weren’t sure.

TAB added that its lending data supports the findings from the broker research. In 2021, bridging loans represented 80% of the value of the lending enquiries. This year, however, this figure has dropped to 64%. Similarly, development finance accounted for 13% of the enquiries in 2021, compared to 31% since the start of 2022.

“The bridging market has been buoyant since 2005 but it took off in the wake of the credit crunch in 2007/8,” commented TAB founder and CEO, Duncan Kreeger. “Since then it’s been white hot.

“We’re now just beginning to see the development finance space take over. We are seeing more and more interest from brokers looking for fast, short to medium term access to capital on behalf of clients who need to finance the construction, conversion and refurbishments of property projects.”

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