West One publishes latest installment of the West One Bridging Index

The latest installment of the West One Bridging Index has been released showing that gross lending is forecast to hit the £1.5 billion mark by the end of 2012.

West One’s quarterly Bridging Index found gross lending in the twelve months from March 2011 to March 2012 rose sharply to reach £1.1 billion, 21 % higher than in the twelve month period from January 2011 to January 2012. The increase is being driven by a surge in lending to residential property investors. With funding costs soaring on the high-street, banks and building societies are scaling back their lending to property investors and upping rates. With the high-street unable to cater for demand, more investors have turned to bridging loans to fund their projects. Bridging lenders are plugging the funding gap left by high-street lenders.

Gross lending in the first quarter of 2012 was £382m, 95% higher than in the first quarter of 2011, and 30% higher than the previous quarter. If the pace of growth continues along its current trajectory, gross lending in 2012 will hit £1.5 billion, an increase of 68% from 2011.

To download a PDF of the full index please click here: