Bridging & Commercial has just heard that the CEO of the Association of Short Term Lenders (astl), Adrian Bloomfield, has resigned from his position.

B&C managed to obtain a copy of Adrian’s departing statement, which reads: “Having acted as CEO of astl since its inception in 2008, the time has come for me to stand down and hand over the role to someone else. I will continue for a short period to achieve a smooth transition.

“I wish good fortune to astl and its members and associate members and all connected with the short term lending industry.”

In the wake of recent contentious rumours which suggested the astl was not achieving enough for its members towards the end of Bloomfield’s tenure, he has since taken the decision to depart from the association. 

Dubbing the short term industry as “very profitable and lucrative with moderate risk” in the press, Bloomfield himself fuelled controversy surrounding whether he was able to adequately represent the interests of the astl’s members. Concerns were raised about the adverse effects this embellishment of the market would present for the already crowded short-term niche. 

These comments, amongst others, have led to the suggestion in industry title Bridging News that the intent was to encourage more “lenders into an already crowded market” to generate more revenue for the astl.

A leading lender within the industry told B&C that Adrian’s comments, boasting about the market, could lead to further saturation and were not in support of member concerns.

Under the leadership of Bloomfield, two high profile short term lenders withdrew their membership, Precise Mortgages and Lowry Capital, who both believe the association did not provide a valuable service.