The Intermediary – September 2026 - Flipbook - Page 71
BRIDGING
Opinion
The new
bridging market
T
here is a tendency in
financial services to
treat caution as the
opposite of growth.
In reality – and
particularly in specialist
property finance – it is oen what
makes sustainable growth possible.
The latest Interpath and Bridging
& Development Lenders Association
(BDLA) survey provides an interesting
snapshot of a bridging market
entering a different stage of its
development.
Macroeconomic uncertainty was
ranked as the primary concern by 65%
of respondents, compared with 39%
a year earlier, while recent events in
the sector have pushed governance,
transparency and operational
resilience much further up the agenda.
That does not suggest a market in
retreat. It suggests a market growing
up. Bridging has changed enormously
and, as the BDLA points out, when the
organisation first started measuring
the market in 2005 the total loan book
was around £300m.
Today, the asset books of BDLA
members alone stand at £11.5bn. With
that scale inevitably comes greater
scrutiny from customers, brokers,
capital providers, and ultimately,
policymakers and regulators.
The question therefore is no longer
simply whether bridging can grow.
It is what sort of market we want it
to become.
BDLA figures for the first quarter
of 2026 show average loan-to-value
(LTV) ratios reducing from 58.64%
to 56.64%, alongside more measured
levels of applications and completions.
That feels less like a loss of confidence,
and more like evidence of discipline
aer a sustained period of expansion.
A specialist future
At Gatehouse Capital, that evolution
plays directly to the model we have
chosen to build. We entered the
market with institutional backing,
but with the flexibility and personal
approach of a specialist provider.
The next stage of bridging will not
simply be won by whoever can move
fastest or quote the lowest headline
price. It will be won by businesses that
can demonstrate where their capital
comes from, how decisions are made
and critically, that the finance they
agree to provide will actually be there
when a transaction needs to complete.
Our approach is deliberately
different. Each case is considered
individually rather than being
pushed through an automated tickbox process.
That is not caution for caution’s
sake. It is about making beer
decisions earlier, so that everyone
involved has greater certainty later.
Transparency, fairness and clarity
are not additions to the transaction.
They are fundamental. Both parties
should understand the structure, the
costs involved, and their respective
obligations. Avoidable uncertainty
should not be engineered into an
arrangement simply because it creates
a commercial advantage for one side.
Those principles feel particularly
relevant in the market described by
Interpath and the BDLA.
Interpath identifies what it describes
as a “flight to quality,” with capital
increasingly concentrating around
established and proven platforms as
investors prioritise resilience, track
record and operational robustness.
It also argues that the diligence bar
has permanently risen, with greater
emphasis on independent verification
of underlying security.
Good governance cannot just be
something discussed between boards
and funders. It must be visible in the
way business is conducted.
For brokers and their clients,
governance ultimately manifests itself
in much more practical ways. Are the
terms clear? Is the capital certain? Has
the case been properly assessed before
an agreement is made? Are the people
MARK DYASON
is managing director
at Gatehouse Capital
Good governance
cannot just be something
discussed between boards
and funders. It must be
visible in the way business
is conducted”
making the decisions accessible? Will
the commercial position agreed at the
beginning still be recognisable when
the transaction reaches completion?
These are simple questions, but
they increasingly distinguish a
sustainable provider from one simply
chasing volume.
There will always be a place for
speed and entrepreneurialism in
bridging. Indeed, removing those
characteristics would remove much of
what makes the sector valuable.
The challenge as the market
matures is to combine them with
the governance, transparency and
institutional discipline expected of a
£11.5bn industry.
We do not see those things as
competing forces. The opportunity
is to create a market which retains
the flexibility that made bridging
successful in the first place while
becoming more transparent, more
dependable and more resilient.
For Gatehouse Capital, that is not
a change of direction prompted by
current market conditions. It is the
reason we built the model the way did
in the first place. ●
September 2026 | The Intermediary
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