High-value bridging loans accounted for almost half of market, FCA figures reveal

New FCA figures obtained by Orton Financial show that £202.7m was advanced through regulated residential bridging loans worth more than £1m in England during Q1 2026.

The data, obtained from the FCA through a Freedom of Information request, showed that 1,052 regulated residential bridging loans were completed against properties in England during the first quarter of the year.

High-value facilities of over £1m accounted for almost 43% of the total value of regulated residential bridging lending during the quarter, despite representing fewer than one in 11 of the loans completed.

The findings suggest bridging finance is playing an increasingly important role in helping high-net-worth individuals manage complex and time-sensitive property transactions, according to specialist mortgage broker Orton Financial.

However, the firm said bridging should not be viewed as a new or universal answer to property-chain difficulties.

The completed loans had a combined value of £471.4m. Of those, 93 loans were worth more than £1m, and the combined value of the £1m-plus loans was £202.7m.

Based on Orton Financial’s analysis of the FCA totals, the mean value of a £1m-plus loan was approximately £2.18m, while the FCA-reported median was around £1.43m.

The longer-term figures also show that regulated residential bridging activity in England has grown considerably since 2021.

The number of regulated residential bridging loans increased from 2,134 in 2021 to 4,249 in 2025, a rise of 99%.

The total value advanced increased at a similar rate, from £862.9m to more than £1.72bn.

Activity above £1m also increased substantially: the number of £1m-plus regulated residential bridging loans rose from 170 in 2021 to 321 in 2025, with their combined value increasing from £293.9m to £607.9m.

That represents an 89% increase in the number of high-value loans and a 107% rise in their total value.

Luther Yeates, head of mortgages at Orton Financial, commented: “Although bridging can provide greater speed and flexibility than a conventional mortgage, it is usually more expensive and should be entered into with a clearly defined exit strategy.

“Possible exit routes include the sale of an existing property, refinancing onto a conventional mortgage, the sale of another asset or the receipt of funds from a known financial event.

“The value of advice in such cases is not simply finding a lender willing to provide the largest loan — it is about identifying whether bridging is genuinely the right tool, approaching lenders that understand the client’s circumstances and structuring the facility so that the borrower has sufficient time and flexibility to carry out the plan.

“Bridging can be extremely useful in the right circumstances, but it needs to form part of a considered financial strategy rather than being treated as a last-minute fix.”