The Association of Short-Term Lenders (ASTL) has reported that bridging loan books increased to a record £4.62bn at the end of the second quarter of 2019.

This represented growth of 11.7% compared to the first quarter of the year and an increase of 14.4% on the same quarter last year.  

Bridging loan applications also hit a record total in the 12 months preceding the end of Q2 2019, with £22.13bn of applications representing a 9.7% increase on the same period the previous year.

The ASTL also stated that over £1bn of bridging loans were written in the second quarter of this year, an increase of 11.8% on the previous quarter and a rise of 4.1% on the same period last year.

There were £5.69bn of bridging loan applications in Q2 2019, which is 4% lower than the first quarter of the year but 5.3% more than the same period in 2018.

Benson Hersch (pictured), CEO of the ASTL said: “The second quarter of this year has delivered some very strong results for bridging lending, with record values both for applications over a 12-month period and total outstanding loan books.

“In fact, nearly all measures were higher than last quarter and the same period in 2018. The wider political and economic environment remains uncertain and the challenge for the industry now is to continue this level of activity whilst maintaining high standards of underwriting and customer focus.”