Times have changed and I for one am very happy that at last the bridging sector is getting a well- deserved reputation for being a dependable and creative solution for an increasing number of businesses, developers, landlords and private individuals.
When I started Capital Bridging Finance in 2009 we had limited funding lines and could only lend for six months, so we were very much a bridging lender launching into a market that did not have the best of reputations. In 2014 we have substantial funding lines and are now lending for periods up to 18 months, Capital Bridging Finance (London) Limited, a subsidiary of CBFL, is regulated, as are many of the brokers that we work with and the industry’s reputation is significantly improved. So what has been the catalyst that has driven the growth of bridging and changed it into the vibrant and competitive short term lending sector?
My opinion is that, with the support of the likes of The Association of Short Term Lenders and Association of Bridging Professionals, our reputation as a dependable option to the high street banks is now established and every day more are beating a path to our doors leading me to believe that completions in excess of £2bn is a realistic figure for 2015. We have come a long way.
The continued reluctance of the mainstream banks to satisfy the growing demand for investment in property has seen the emergence of a market that is now far broader than the bridging one I joined in 2009. Indeed the banks have fuelled the growth of the longer, short term lending market (if that makes sense) with their approach to debt forgiveness and the opportunities that have presented themselves to many of us seeking to establish longer term relationships with our distributors and their clients. Back in 2009 bridging was often short and sweet, now we are seeing our business grow on the basis of repeat and referral business and this is helping us lose the “lender of last resort” tag.
With a substantial number of lenders in the sector now regulated, the ASTL and the AOBP are making great strides to ensure that their members have a voice at the top table and we are certainly starting to influence policy as recently witnessed when at the ASTL Conference the FCA gave Rob Jupp (Chairman of AOBP) the green light to the AOBP (IFS backed) industry qualification.
So are we still “bridgers” or are we more than that? I believe that Capital Bridging Finance and many others are much more than a lender of last resort, as was the often quoted definition of a “bridger” back in 2009. We have come a long way as an industry in the last five years and it is my firm belief that ASTL and AOBP now have a reputation for being professional bodies whose members are ethical, reliable and put the client at the core of their propositions. In so doing we have moved from being short term “bridgers” to become credible short term lenders with a long term future.
