Bridging finance providers are positive about the outlook for their businesses, the bridging market and the long-term outlook for the UK economy, according to the latest sentiment survey from the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL).

Rsearch was conducted amongst members of the ASTL shortly after the Budget in March and found that more than 73% of bridging lenders are confident about the long-term prospects for the UK economy, compared to 64% when the survey was last run in July 2020.

When it comes to the immediate prospects for the bridging sector and their own businesses, lenders are even more positive. According to the survey, 87% of bridging lenders think the turnover of their business will grow in the next six months and 77% expect the turnover of the wider bridging sector to increase. This compares positively to the last survey in July 2020, when 41% of respondents anticipated the turnover of their business would shrink in the following six months, and 36% predicted the turnover of the wider bridging sector to fall.

Lenders are divided over whether or not they think competition in the bridging sector will increase in the next six months as 47% think it will remain the same while 43% think that competition will increase. Only 10% of lenders expect a decrease in competition in the next six months.

Vic Jannels, CEO at the ASTL, said: “This latest sentiment survey of the ASTL’s members is an important one as it gives us an opportunity to take a step back and reflect on the year we have been through. The significant increase in positivity compared to last summer reflects not only the general optimism about the rollout of the vaccination programme, but also the way that bridging lenders have been able to evolve and adapt to the changing environment.

“The sector is in a strong position to continue to support the recovery with fast, flexible short-term lending to meet the diverse needs of a range of customers.”