The research, which was conducted by the association among its members shortly after the Budget, found that 73% of bridging lenders are confident about the long-term prospects for the UK economy, compared to 64% when the survey was last run in July 2020.

In terms of the outlook for the bridging sector and their own businesses, 87% of lenders think the turnover of their business will grow in the next six months and 77% expect the turnover of the wider bridging market to increase.

Lenders are divided over whether or not they think competition in the bridging sector will rise in the next six months — 47% think it will remain the same, while 43% think that competition will increase.

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Only 10% of lenders expect a decrease in competition in the next six months.
 
Vic Jannels, CEO at the ASTL (pictured above), said: “This latest sentiment survey of the ASTL’s members is an important one, as it gives us an opportunity to take a step back and reflect on the year we have been through.

“The significant increase in positivity compared to last summer reflects not only the general optimism about the rollout of the vaccination programme, but also the way that bridging lenders have been able to evolve and adapt to the changing environment.

“The sector is in a strong position to continue to support the recovery with fast, flexible short-term lending to meet the diverse needs of a range of customers."