Bridging lenders are concentrating on deals in London and so are missing out on opportunities to lend in other areas of the country with strong property prospects.

Martyn Smith, founder and managing director of bridging lender Bath & West, says short-term lenders have become over reliant on the capital’s property market to do easy deals and have neglected areas of the country that show serious potential.

Smith, who has 35 years of experience in short-term lending, claims Bristol, Bath and the south west offer sound fundamentals to property developers, investors and intermediaries looking for an opportunity to expand.

He said: “The recovery in the property market hasn’t been evenly spread across the UK since the market collapsed in 2008. London has always been a market disconnected from the rest of the UK with strong demand from both domestic and foreign buyers.

“That’s why the mainstream bridging lenders have focused their attention on the capital over the past few years. But there are other areas of the UK that offer lots of untapped opportunity, Bristol and the West Country being a prime example.”

He added: “There’s more to the UK than just London but despite the clear advantages of cities such as Bristol, property developers are still finding it very difficult to get finance outside the capital.

“We think that’s crazy, which is why we are focusing solely on the West Country and these cities, offering much needed short-term funding to property professionals in the area.

“The demand is there but I think sometimes developers and their financial advisers fall foul of the usual suspects in the bridging market and give up when they’re told no because it’s outside the M25.”