The Intermediary – December 2025 - Flipbook - Page 42
SPECIALIST FINANCE
Opinion
Reflections,
resilience and
the road ahead
A
s we approach the end
of 2025, I find myself
reflecting, not just
on another year of
significant progress
for our sector, but
also on the personal milestone that
this column represents.
Aer six rewarding years as chief
executive of the BDLA (formerly the
ASTL), this will likely be one of my
final opportunities to speak directly to
the market in this role. It is with pride,
gratitude and a touch of nostalgia that
I write these words.
When I first took on the role in
2019, the specialist property finance
sector was evolving rapidly, and
needed a central voice that truly
reflected its scale and significance.
I like to think that, today, the BDLA
has become that voice. We have grown
our membership to almost 100 lender
and associate members. Our collective
loan book now exceeds £13.7bn,
and the influence we hold across
policymaking, standards and sector
development has never been greater.
This year alone, our sector has
seen record performance. In Q3 2025,
bridging completions reached £2.5bn
– up 42% on the same period last year
– and application volumes climbed to
£11.4bn. For yet another consecutive
quarter, lender loan books increased,
hiing a new high of £13.7bn, despite
broader economic uncertainty.
Great responsibility
While growth is always welcome,
it must be accompanied by a deep
sense of responsibility. This has
been the guiding principle of the
BDLA throughout my tenure, and
particularly in 2025.
One of our key focus areas this
year has been tackling the growing
threat of fraud. We have all seen
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The Intermediary | December 2025
how increasingly sophisticated fraud
aempts are targeting lenders across
the market, oen with coordinated
approaches that exploit the speed and
complexity of bridging finance.
To meet this challenge, we
developed and launched the industry’s
first real-time fraud intelligencesharing platform, in partnership with
Synectics Solutions. This GDPRcompliant system enables BDLA
members to flag suspicious cases and
share alerts securely, creating a vital
early warning mechanism that can
stop fraud before it takes root.
While growth
is always welcome, it
must be accompanied
by a deep sense of
responsibility”
We know that this type of
collaboration can deliver tangible
results. At a recent member meeting,
for example, one lender flagged a
questionable application, and within
minutes, five other lenders confirmed
they had seen the same case. That
single alert prevented a potentially
fraudulent deal from proceeding.
This is the power of collaboration in
action, and the very essence of what a
trade association should do.
Raising standards
Our focus on standards and
education has also moved up a gear.
In partnership with the National
Association of Commercial Finance
Brokers (NACFB), Financial
Intermediary and Broker Association
(FIBA), Association of Mortgage
VIC JANNELS
is CEO at the Bridging &
Development Lenders
Association (BDLA)
Intermediaries (AMI) and the
London Institute of Banking &
Finance (LIBF), and on the back
of the hugely successful Certified
Practitioner in Specialist Property
Finance (CPSP) qualification, we are
working together towards the launch
of a Specialist Property Finance
Education Commiee.
This is a sector-wide initiative will
be targeted at raising professional
competency across both regulated
and unregulated parts of the market.
This is not just about courses and
qualifications; it’s about creating a
culture of shared responsibility, and
equipping advisers and lenders with
the knowledge they need to deliver the
best outcomes for borrowers.
Our work with regulators has
remained constant and constructive.
We continue to engage directly
with all stakeholders, including the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA),
to ensure that bridging lenders –
many of which operate outside the
scope of formal regulation – are fairly
represented and understood.
This year saw some important
developments, not least the FCA’s CP
24/2 consultation, which proposed
the public naming of firms under
investigation.
While transparency is important,
we joined other trade bodies in
challenging this proposal, due to the
severe reputational harm it could
cause to firms that have not been
found guilty of any wrongdoing.
The good news is that this policy
has now been paused, but it serves as a
reminder of the importance of having
a strong trade body advocating for
the sector.
