Roma Finance has reported a significant increase in its lending in the North West in the first half of 2018.

For all of England and Wales, lending volumes in the first six months of the year for the bridging and development finance lender also show an increase of 80% compared to the same period in 2017, with a growing proportion of this increase coming from bridging in the North West.

Recent market data shows key cities in the North West are performing well in the property sector, with Stockport, Bolton, Manchester and Warrington all appearing in the Co-Star top 10 for commercial property activity. The recent Hometrack House Price Index also highlights Manchester and Liverpool as cities with the fastest house price growth, which Roma says demonstrates they have booming economies and that they are desirable locations to live.

Scott Marshall (pictured), managing director at Roma Finance, said: “Although we lend throughout England and wales, we’ve seen some tremendous projects in the North West and this has become a huge growth area for us.

“There’s a high demand for property conversions, for example we have just enhanced our facility to £1.52m on our largest ever case in Manchester as it now has planning for 30 apartments (up from 26) with underground parking. And in Liverpool we have helped numerous customers including one who’s now on their sixth deal with us, having made almost £1m on their last transaction.

“There’s a greater demand than ever before, and we are now rapidly growing the team so more introducers and developers can benefit from the opportunities our bridging finance solutions can provide.”