Emma Cox

Heavy refurbs and auction market drive bridging demand, reveals Shawbrook study




A rise in auction activity and heavy refurbishments has increased demand for bridging finance, revealed Shawbrook Bank’s ‘Bridging Market Bulletin’, delivered in collaboration with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

According to the report and additional data from Essential Information Group (EIG), auction activity has recovered well in the months following the first lockdown.

EIG highlighted that, in September, the total amounts raised in all auction sales stood 38.8% above the same month in 2019.

Auction transactions were driven by both residential and commercial lots in September, but a sharp increase was driven by two large commercial sales, leading to a jump in the annual growth rate, which grew by 153.6%.

Residential lots were also up in the year to September by 22.3%.

For heavy refurbs, the bank has seen increased demand from clients to fund these types of projects for higher yielding assets, such as larger HMOs, multi-unit blocks, and through converting space above commercial property.

In addition to the two trends, Shawbrook has also highlighted that investors wanting to capitalise on the SDLT holiday are looking to bridging finance for funding.

Commenting on the state of the market, Emma Cox, sales director at Shawbrook (pictured above), said: “The use of bridging to carry out refurbishments and conversions, as well as to aid chain breaks due to elongated sales processes, is an essential funding option that can support lucrative investment opportunities.

“The bridging market has demonstrated remarkable resilience throughout this year and, as much as we may face more challenges towards the end of 2020 and into the early parts of 2021, we believe this adversity may create opportunities for investors and brokers, which Shawbrook plans to continue to support as much as possible."

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