West One publishes latest Bridging Index Q3 2012

Bridging lending up 14% in Q3

• Loan volumes up 6% quarter on quarter
• Average loan size rises 8% from Q2 to £398,000
• Business lending increasingly driving growth
• Rates fall marginally but LTVs tighten as investors become more cautious

The pace of growth in the bridging industry picked up in the third quarter, to match longer term trends and reverse a slowdown seen in Q2, according to the latest West One Bridging Index.

On the back of both larger bridging loans and higher volumes, quarterly gross lending grew by 14% from £348m in Q2 to £399m in Q3. Lending in Q3 was 65% higher than the equivalent period in 2011. On a twelve month basis, lending rose 12% from £1.26 billion in the year up to June to £1.42 billion in the year up to September. 

This follows a period of slower growth in Q2, and will mean gross lending in the bridging market will hit previous forecasts of £1.5 billion by the end of 2012.