Tiuta's chief executive Steven Nicholas said the din of interest in the short-term sector was proof of "the need for a combined and committed bridging loan industry working together, particularly the lender community".
And he said: "Unfortunately there has been little, if any, group thinking on the part of bridging lenders in recent times. Indeed the increased competition has created a far more disparate collective with little or no concern for the industry as a whole.
"I’m all for looking at how to increase the competitive advantage over one’s peers however I question whether disparaging other lenders is the way to achieve this."
And Paul Brett, business development director at borro, agreed.
He said: "There is a recurring charge that ASTL members are fully signed up to be a force for positive change rather than for petty infighting.
"There is a job to be done to convince the powers that be that the trade body is fit for purpose and worth engaging. With a new head and a proper mandate to act, something that was sadly unforthcoming for the previous incumbent, there is hope that the industry lenders will begin to speak with one voice rather than the fractured confrontational posturing, which marked the end of the last administration."
Their comments come a week after Benson Hersch's appointment as chief executive of the Association of Short Term Lenders.
Nicholas added: "The ASTL could create a more unified sector. However it’s worth and value has been continually questioned and now is certainly the time it needs to show it is working on behalf of its membership and offering thought leadership on bridging lending to all stakeholders.
"Benson Hersch is a positive and we are hoping as members that this appointment adds some real impetus and gravitas to the organisation. The point is that the industry needs to work together otherwise it will be seen as divided and easy to pick off by those who may wish to do so.
"I might suggest that the first thing Benson does is outline the overall aims and ambitions of the ASTL, and detail a number of tangible ‘quick wins’ it wants to achieve over the coming months. He should also be looking to engage with all the necessary regulatory bodies and interested parties to ensure they understand the workings of the bridging market, how it differs to the mainstream and why it should therefore be treated as a separate and individual market.
"Without the basics of knowing what the organisation actually stands for and what it intends to achieve we are all individually merely whistling in the wind. It is important that the ASTL influences the debate rather than attempts to exercise control when the important decisions have already been made."
Brett also said Hersch should concentrate on "realigning the trade body so that it is seen, not as a talking shop, but as a vital and forward thinking organisation".
The trade body's remit from its members should be "to proactively engage with government and regulator to show that the industry is prepared to be part of the solution", he said.
Brett also encouraged the ASTL to "work very hard to persuade those lenders who left the ASTL in recent times to rejoin". Precise Mortgages and Lowry Capital both left the association in the past nine months.
Brett added: "If a trade body is to have credibility in the eyes of the industry, regulators and government it must, by definition, represent the vast majority of players in the market. Significant defections over the past twelve to eighteen months challenge that credibility and weaken the proposition of a united and focussed industry in the eyes of those whose role it is to ensure that the buying public are properly treated.
"For the defectors to rejoin there has to be a clear common purpose established which transcends competitive rivalry, with a coherent strategy to which all members feel they can commit. This is a test for all concerned.
"The role of leading the ASTL is certainly not going to be easy. Hersch will have to command the respect of all the lender members and the first demonstration of whether the new ASTL is on the right track, will be whether the membership are prepared to accept and support a leader rather than a manager, acting for the industry as a whole rather than a narrow based interest group."
