£2.59bn bridging loans were written by members of the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL) in 2015.

This represents an increase of 13.8% on the previous year.

As at December 2015, the overall value of the loan books increased by 20% in comparison to the preceding year.

The ASTL said that while completions are still increasing at double the speed of the mainstream mortgage market, the pace of growth has slowed over the past year.

While the number of applications saw a 14% rise year on year, there was a drop in the quarter ended 31 December compared to the previous quarter.

Benson Hersch (pictured), chief executive of the ASTL, said: “Bridging finance continues to outstrip the main mortgage market as more brokers and borrowers turn to bridging loans. Members are recording increased business volumes and it is therefore little surprise that the bridging industry has become such an integral part of the mortgage funding market.

“It will certainly be interesting to see whether or not the decline in loan applications at the end of last year will have an impact on the bridging market in the coming months. Either way, sentiment remains highly positive and the final figures for 2015 in terms of loans written and the loan book value show strong demand for bridging loans.”