The Intermediary – November 2025 - Flipbook - Page 82
SPECIALIST FINANCE
Opinion
Keeping the
wheels turning in a
cautious market
f you’ve been speaking with
clients lately, you won’t have
failed to notice a change in the
conversation. It’s no longer
just about when rates will
fall or which lenders are still
quoting, it’s about opportunity, where
it exists, and how to make it happen
when the traditional channels are still
moving in a cautious manner. From
my perspective, that’s where bridging
finance continues to underpin
its worth, particularly across the
commercial market.
I’m not going to pretend that
commercial property activity has
roared back this year. It hasn’t. The
official numbers show transaction
volumes down around 27% year-onyear in Q2, which tells its own story.
But when you look more closely,
what you see isn’t a lack of appetite,
it’s a change of approach. Investors are
being more selective.
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The Intermediary | November 2025
Deals are smaller, timelines tighter,
and flexibility has become the defining
factor in whether a project gets off the
ground or not.
What we’re seeing
Much of our pipeline through
the first half of 2025 was in the
short-term commercial and semicommercial space – transactions that
need to move quickly or risk falling
through altogether.
We’re talking about borrowers
who understand the value of timing,
developers repositioning older stock,
landlords refinancing loans that no
longer fit today’s rate environment,
and buyers taking on assets that
need a creative structure to make the
numbers work.
Those are the conversations I’ve
been having with brokers every day,
and it’s clear bridging remains their
go-to solution.
Bridging consolidates
According to the latest data from the
Bridging & Development Lenders
Association (BDLA), total bridging
completions reached £2.3bn in the
second quarter of 2025, down 8.9%
from the record £2.8bn in Q1, but still
32.9% higher than the same period
last year. Applications eased slightly
to £10.2bn, a fall of just 1.5% on the
previous quarter, while lenders’
combined loanbooks climbed to a
record £13.1bn.
The figures suggest that, aer the
surge in early-year activity, the market
has seled into a more stable rhythm.
BDLA chief executive Vic Jannels
described the quarter as “a modest
step back as the market consolidates,”
noting that loan performance remains
strong, with defaults down 1.8% and
average loan-to-values (LTVs) easing
to 56.7%.
