The survey — conducted in November this year — asked 140 individuals working within the specialist lending industry to share their views on the bridging market and the direction their companies will be moving towards over the next 12 months.

According to the research, a lot of the growing interest in bridging products is focused on the specialist lending market, with 35% of respondents seeing more cases that previously would have gone to a high-street lender instead.

In addition, 71% of brokers claimed that awareness of bridging finance is growing across the market.

When asked about the primary factors driving the boom in bridging finance, 41% of brokers said that chain breaks and mortgage delays were the most important reasons.

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Other factors cited by respondents include an increase in DIY and refurbishments, (34%), auction purchases (28%), capital raise (19%) and re-bridging (11%). 

Richard Deacon, sales director at Masthaven (pictured above), said: “The pandemic has proved uniquely stressful and disruptive for the UK housing market, even while property prices and transaction levels have climbed to new highs. 

“Bridging finance has always been a useful tool, but in the current market, it has really come into its own, growing in popularity as both brokers and borrowers look for flexible short-term finance solutions. 

“Increasingly, these solutions have come from the specialist sector, which has worked hard to innovate and provide customers with the right tools to navigate this busy period.

“The factors pushing borrowers towards bridging may have been boosted by the pandemic, but they’re not going away any time soon. 

“Bridging finance is no longer just an emergency option for borrowers, it has become truly mainstream. 

“As awareness of the power and utility of bridging continues to grow, it will be increasingly important that lenders work hard to make their products competitive and accessible.”