On the face of it, 2025 was an incredible year for the bridging industry. You only have to look at the quarterly stats published by the Bridging and Development Lenders Association (BDLA), and the constant reports of record highs for activity and loan books, to get a picture of a sector in rude health.
However, it’s important to recognise that those headline figures don’t tell the whole story. The last 12 months contained plenty of challenges, as the difficulties of recent years – perhaps as far back as Covid, but certainly from the Liz Truss regime – fed into property values and activity levels. The short-term nature of bridging loans means lenders could clearly see how quickly those values had shifted – and not always for the better – between the start and end of the loan.
That said, the fundamentals remain incredibly strong for the bridging sector. I think the business we write today will be on a firmer foundation precisely because we have come through the last year, setting the bridging market up for an even brighter future.
Stepping up to the competition
One of the clearest indicators of the growth of the bridging market is the number of lenders active in this space. You don’t need the longest memory to recall that when we came out of the great financial crash, there were only a handful of lenders really active in the bridging market, yet today there are upwards of 100 lenders competing for short-term lending business.
It shows how far the market has come, and it’s a level of competition that forces all of us to raise our game and earn each case.
However, what’s also clear is the importance of reliability and trust. Brokers aren’t just looking for a low rate – they want to work with lenders who have reliable funding, and who can live up to their promises. I know that a big factor in the relationships we have built with brokers over recent years has been our institutionalised funding, and the fact that money isn’t about to disappear overnight.
The best brokers aren’t just thinking about the current case, but the deals to come. For lenders to stand out in this market, we need to prove – time and time again – that brokers can rely on us to deliver for their clients.
The rise of regulated bridging
Conversations about bridging often centre on the unregulated side, and the prospects of investors in UK property. Given the constant changes to regulation and taxation for property investment, that perhaps isn’t surprising, but I do think the regulated side merits more consideration.
We have seen regulated activity increase noticeably at Glenhawk. That may be a reflection of the fact that borrowing for the sake of a chain break, for example, is no longer all that costly as the gap between bridging loans and standard mortgage rates has narrowed.
It will be interesting to see how this area of the market performs in 2026, given how attractive it can be for residential buyers to free themselves of the limitations that come from relying on movement elsewhere in a housing chain.
Key to the future of bridging will be the attitude of brokers who aren’t as active in this sector
What does the future hold?
Key to the future of bridging will be the attitude of brokers who aren’t as active in this sector. The days of bridging being a niche product are long gone, but there remains a significant portion of the intermediary market for whom it remains only an occasional consideration.
As an industry, we need to continue to advocate for bridging, educating brokers not just on the products themselves but on the specific cases where they can make all the difference.
