The bridging industry is known for favouring the Capital. However, some believe there isn’t just life outside the M25, there’s a goldmine.

London’s property market seems to be ever growing, with the ONS’s May results showing that London had the most growth in house prices across the whole of England. The capital saw a record annual increase of 20.1 per cent and the surrounding South East also increased, by 9.6 per cent.

At the end of 2013’s Q4, the value of residential mortgage loans in London peaked at just over £231,000,000,000. Compared to the north of England which totalled at just over £107,000,000,000, this accounts for the combined total of values in North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber.  With one city doubling the whole of the north of England, sometimes it is not surprising that lenders want to stay in the capital. But the north is growing and it is making a difference to the industry.

The Bridging Finance Solutions is one of those lenders that has marked a big impact on its business.

Based in Merseyside, Bridging Finance Solutions has traditionally served the whole UK, but in the past 12 months has noticed a trend of short term loans being lent in the North and North West of England. The last year has seen an increase in Northern applications for bridging, with Bridging Finance Solutions finding that around 70 per cent of its short term loans to borrowers have been far away from the M25 traditional bridging circuit.

Steve Barber, Managing Director of Bridging Finance Solutions said: “A number of bridging companies have a strong appetite to lend in the South East, where the market has seen some significant recent gains as foreign investors continue to plough money into both the residential and commercial property markets.”

“As the South East property market improves, history tells us that the rest of the country will follow in differing degrees, however, return on investments on property in the North can often be far higher than those in the South. It is largely for this reason that we have seen a significant upsurge in applications in the North. For example, a house purchased for £70,000 (a typical house price for a three bedroom terrace in most major Northern cities) can realise a rental of around £500 each month, offering a yield of around 8.5 per cent. Returns such as this can rarely be made in the Southern property market as property capital values far outweigh the increase in rental yield.”

Steve added: “We remain a nation al bridging finance company but one that recognises that with an  established track record north of Birmingham, perhaps going against the grain and continuing to increase lending in the North will give our clients and brokers the certainty and confidence as business, demand  and turnover grows.”