Shawbrook Bank has found a wave of optimism running across the commercial mortgage broker community, with almost 95% of respondents expressing confidence in the economy.

Shawbrook’s inaugural Broker Barometer survey also established that this positivity is reflected in a rise in completions by commercial mortgage brokers over the last quarter, with 59% reporting an increase in deals in the last three months.

However, almost 70% of brokers believe their clients are pessimistic about the chances of borrowing from high street banks. This contrasts with just 9% pessimism when it comes to borrowing from specialist lenders.

The Barometer is a quarterly survey to test the temperature of commercial mortgage brokers on everything from client confidence to popular product features.

The survey also questioned brokers about their roles in the market – and the value placed on them by lenders and clients. The survey revealed that just 20% of brokers feel clients always understand the role they have to play in commercial mortgage deals.

Lenders are varied in their appreciation of brokers, according to the survey. More than 80% of brokers questioned believe specialist lenders ‘often’ or ‘always’ value their role in the process. Just 15% of brokers believe the same of high street lenders.

Karen Bennett, director of sales and marketing, commercial mortgages at Shawbrook Bank, said: “It has been really interesting to delve a little deeper into the thoughts and experiences of our broker partners. They are after all the real eyes and ears of the industry – speaking to clients and lenders every day and being the first to feel the effects of the shifts and changes in the market.

“It’s encouraging to see brokers’ confidence in the economy steadily growing, and as our distribution is through brokers alone we’ll continue to bang the drum to ensure clients are aware of the huge value brokers play in sourcing the full range of lending options available to them.”