The first half of this year has been characterised by macroeconomic and political events around the world, which have brought market volatility and uncertainty, impacting commercial investors’ decision-making and their desire to go ahead with deals. This is demonstrated by UK real estate transaction volumes in Q1 2025 – which, according to CBRE, were down by 61% compared to Q4 2024.
However - with expectations that the Bank Base Rate will drop just once more this year – hanging fire, perhaps waiting for rates to drop, might not be the best course of action. What we do know for certain is that the ultra-low rates we saw five years ago are not coming back in the short to medium term. That said, despite the ups and downs, there is a level of confidence that, over the next six months, stability will return to the sector. This is principally because over the long term, real estate is a reliable income stream for many investors, with good growth potential, and market fluctuations inevitably create as many opportunities as they do problems, depending on individual businesses’ circumstances.
A changing world
Alongside the market backdrop, brokers are also navigating the challenges and opportunities presented by the pace of technology advancements. Intermediaries face a delicate balance when it comes to making improvements which are either essential to meeting regulatory requirements or important for boosting their business efficiency, without losing that all-important human touch, which is so important in the commercial market given the complexity of many cases.
A key example of this is the process of getting a deal over the line in its final stages, which can be very challenging for both brokers and their customers. Having an individual at the end of the process to move things along really helps – and is a task a machine just cannot do.
As a business, we understand the importance of providing the best possible customer service which is why, earlier this year, we reduced our case turnaround times from 48 to just 24 hours, meaning that brokers now receive either a ‘yes’ with indicative terms, or, equally importantly, a ‘no’ answer, within this timeframe, so that they can continue to progress their case either through us or elsewhere in a timely manner.
This is just one of the ways in which we’ve responded to the current landscape, where competition is keen. Commercial businesses with the capital to invest are keen to seize the day, and we understand that brokers cannot miss a beat when it comes to helping them realise their goals. Recognising that houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) are one such growth area, other positive changes we’ve made include improving our HMO offering, launching new products tailored to property size and making them accessible to more borrowers. We’ve also recently restructured our buy-to-let range in response to market conditions, as well as reducing rates on our commercial investment product with a further discount for industrial units which meet specified criteria, to incentivise landlords offering higher-quality properties.
These are examples of how we’re constantly adapting in response to broker feedback, enhancing our propositions to best fit their needs – and ensuring we can service even more brokers and their customers.
We’ve also focussed on enhancing our customer journey and streamlining operational processes to ensure we offer our brokers and their customers the most seamless experience possible. Central to this have been changes to our broker portal in response to customer, broker and colleague feedback. It now offers enhanced capabilities designed to make the application journey quicker, easier and more flexible for brokers and their clients, and these improvements are just the beginning, with more to come.
All these developments are reflected in our case turnaround times from application to offer, where, this year, we have removed 20 days from the timeline.
An ambitious half two
In terms of what’s next, our aim is to maintain an unwavering focus on listening to what our brokers tell us they need and investing in the things that will make the biggest difference for their customers at every stage of their journey – with further enhancements on the way. We have ambitious growth plans too, which will be enabled by continual improvements to ensure we maintain our reputation for exceptional customer service, constantly evolving in ways which play to our strengths as a business.
As for the sector, as we see more stability in terms of where rates will settle, we believe investor confidence will increase – which can only be positive for the overall buoyancy of the commercial market.
What I know for certain is that whatever is thrown at us for the rest of the year and into next, we’ll embrace it, working closely in partnership with our brokers to enhance and support the commercial market and the crucial contribution it makes to the UK economy.
