Applications for short-term loans rose by 5.3% to more than 2600 while the value of the applications increased by 15% quarter-on-quarter totalling £1.280 billion, up from £1.113 billion in the previous quarter.
Benson Hersch, chief executive of the ASTL, said: “The figures reflect the continuing steady increase I expected revealing the ongoing need for bridging finance. This has not decreased despite pressure by government and promises by mainstream banks to lend more, as a result, short term loans are filling the gap in many instances.”
ASTL members lent £281m worth of loans in the quarter, down just slightly from the £283m lent in the quarter up until the end of March but there was also an overall increase of over 3.5% in the value of the lenders’ loan books as the total loan book at the end of period was worth £1.140bn up from £1.102bn.
Hersch said: “As well as for traditional purposes of bridging the gap between when people sell one property and buy another, it is clear that bridging and other alternative funding methods are increasingly being used by SMEs to meet their funding requirements.
“Members report steady demand in the current quarter and I expect the next quarter’s figures to continue to show the same increase.”
