The bridging lender is working closely with partners ahead of initial online sales.

Steve Barber, managing director at Bridging Finance Solutions (pictured above), said: “Exploring and integrating new technology has always been an important part of our business and so we have found ourselves in the fortunate position of being fairly well prepared.

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“The majority of our internal and external processes have already been shifted towards an online platform, including the onboarding of clients via Nivo, and so applying that to the auction market has been a fairly straight forward move.” 

He said that all documentation could be completed and submitted online, including bank statements and ID, which helped reduce the risk of cyber crime, and that they used Zoom for any necessary face-to-face interviews.

“The auction market appears to be fairly buoyant, in line with the wider property market,” Steve added.

He explained that there would inadvertantly be stock left from cancelled auctions, as well as new lots coming to market, and so they were witnessing “bulky catalogues with strong potential”.

“We have continued to operate as ‘normal’ during lockdown and are already making plans to bring staff back onboard to ensure we can deliver in line with what appears to be continually escalating demand.

“As with previous periods of economic uncertainty, we have retained a firm, service-driven approach, weathering the storm in unchartered territory and supporting our customers with their development finance and bridging lending needs.”