It increased platform usage
Specialist finance digital marketplace Brickflow enjoyed its most successful first quarter, to start 2024.
The company not only increased its loan searches and platform usage but also completed a landmark £16.85 million development finance deal of 103 flats in Hastings - the largest to date for Brickflow.
The platform enabled Purple Pepper Homes, in collaboration with its ntermediary, to efficiently compare lending options and structure the financing to align with its long-term retention strategy. This approach facilitated a quicker lender decision and provided the lender with confidence in the project.
“The funding requirement was a complex one, and it’s unlikely we would have been successful had we approached funders directly,” said Purple Pepper Homes managing director Pierre Lombaard. “We saved weeks of time by comparing lending options on the Brickflow platform and we were able to structure our development funding with our exit strategy of partial long-term retention in mind. This and the ability to create a comprehensive online project appraisal gave the funders more confidence in our scheme and its ultimate success.”
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Brickflow's platform also experienced a 50% increase in loan searches in the first three months of 2024 compared to all of 2023, connecting users with over 100 lenders offering various types of financial products including bridging, commercial, and development finance. Notably, March saw a record 1,084 loan searches as the platform processed an unprecedented number of Decision In Principle (DIP) requests from more than 190 brokerage users.
The first quarter also saw Brickflow expand its lender panel by 10%, adding 11 new lenders and securing an exclusive rate for bridging finance with Hana Capital. Additionally, the platform set a new benchmark by achieving its fastest DIP - which was issued in just seven minutes.
Brickflow founder Ian Humphreys attributed this growth to a shift in market behaviour, noting an increasing reliance on technology among intermediaries, borrowers, and lenders to secure competitive deals. The company is planning to introduce new products, including commercial mortgages and regulated bridging loans, further expanding its technological offerings to a broader market segment.
“Both adoption and usage are increasing as the market moves away from the archaic manual process for securing funding, to a new default behaviour; leveraging Brickflow to facilitate increased efficiency, connectivity and communication,” Humphreys said.
