Rob Jupp, managing director of Brightstar Financial, said: “Shawbrook will make an excellent addition to an already buoyant and strong bridging market.
“If they extend their commercial expertise to their bridging side, they will have the potential to be one of the bigger players in the bridging sector."
Jupp said Shawbrook's rates, which start at 0.7% a month, are competitive.
"Their minimum three month term isn’t going to suit everybody as some clients are going to want bridges very quickly but it’s a very clean product," Jupp added.
He also said Shawbrook would be competing with the mainstream bridging lenders including Precise Mortgages, Tiuta, Dragonfly, United Trust Bank and Masthaven.
Mel Fordham, chief executive officer at Centrado, said: “Knowing the Shawbrook team David Johnson, Stephen Johnson and Philip George for many years, they represent a very innovative and pragmatic team.
“There can’t be many people who know the market, understand it and predict it better than them. They have a history of producing outstanding products and being able to interpret what the market wants and tailoring their products to meet the needs very tightly indeed."
Shawbrook is offering short-term loans between £150,000 and £25m for the purchase of residential and semi-commercial investment property funding at up to 65% of the purchase price. Loans will have a minimum term of three months and a maximum term of 12 months and will be priced at 7.45% above three month libor.
There will be no early repayment charge and Shawbrook will require seven working days’ notice of redemption subject to a minimum three month period.
Stephen Johnson, new business director of Shawbrook Bank, said: "Our new short-term loan will be the latest addition to a suite of commercial lending products, and we are targeting the professional property investor with a proven track record looking to take advantage of the buying opportunities that exist in today’s market."
Distribution will be through Shawbrook's existing panel.
This year has seen several new lenders launch into the short term lending market including Precise Mortgages, Century Capital and the re-launch of Omni Capital. The only available numbers on the sector suggest there has been an annual uplift of 180% in the amount of bridging business written by NACFB members.
Alan Cleary, managing director of Precise Mortgages, said Shawbrook's entry would help drive professionalism in the sector.
And he added: “It’s positive to see another lender enter the bridging sector bringing with them new funds. This is encouraging news for consumers and intermediaries who are involved in the short term lending market.”
