ASTL members see 49% boost to loan book

The Association of Short Term Lenders’ (ASTL) have revealed that loans written by members in the year ended September 2014 have now exceeded £2 billion.

The latest quarterly figures, taken from responses from ASTL members, on the size of the bridging market reveals that in Q3 this year, the value of the overall loan book increased by 49.8 per cent compared to last year.

The number of loans written increased by 18.2 per cent in the quarter ending September 2014 compared to Q2 and by 7 per cent for the year ending September 2014, compared to the year ended September 2013.

Chief Executive of ASTL, Benson Hersch, said the results show bridging continues to play an important role in the alternative finance market.

“This was yet another bumper quarter for our members, who have written £1.98 billion worth of loans in the past year,” he said.

“Bridging continues to play an important role in the alternative finance market, and our members provide a responsible and reliable service for both SMEs and homeowners.

“Members are positive about the prospects for the current quarter and the year ahead.”

There has been an 11.6 per cent increase in the value of applications for bridging loans in Q3 2014 compared to Q2 2014 which reverses the trend in the previous quarter where there was a 19 per cent decrease.

However, the figure is less than the spectacular figures for Q1 2014 where the value of applications increased by 83 per cent quarter to quarter.

The value of applications does tend to be volatile on a quarter by quarter basis but the long-term trend continues to be positive.

A few of the members of ASTL include; Aldermore Bank, Alternative Bridging Corporation, Bridgebank Capital, Dragonfly Property Finance, Goldentree Financial Services, Hope Capital and Masthaven Bridging Finance.