Bridging Trends* Q2 2026 went live this morning. While the value of bridging loans transacted during Q2 fell, there are still plenty of positives to be taken. Here’s an overview of the key figures.
Transaction value down but speed up
Gross contributor lending came in at £173.1 million in Q2, a 15% drop on Q1’s £199.2 million. This is not a surprise, as borrowers who were not in urgent need of funds seemingly put the brakes on transactions. Those who did need to move quickly though used bridging to access funds fast. In fact, preventing a chain break and purchasing an investment property were the two most popular uses of bridging finance in Q2, both accounting for 18% of transactions. This focus on speed is likely why the average completion time fell from 53 days in Q2 to 46 in Q1, as well as collaboration between all parties.
Demand for regulated bridging rose from 41% in Q1 to 48% in Q2 and could be attributed to borrowers looking for solutions after high street lenders pulled products and hiked rates in the wake of the Iran war.
A savvy approach to leveraging equity
What really stands out about Q2 is how borrowers are utilising bridging loans. With the conflict rumbling on, many appear to have resigned themselves to the fact that we are going to be in a period of economic uncertainty for the foreseeable future. Instead of pausing projects indefinitely, they are looking at other ways to fund them. This is likely why the proportion of second charge bridging loans more than doubled, from 9% in Q1 to 22% in Q2 as they provide equity without disturbing an existing mortgage.
Bridges long associated with equity release, such as funding a business injection and a heavy refurb, both increased in popularity (rising from 4% in Q1 to 9% in Q2 and 6% in Q1 to 10% in Q2 respectively) while regulated refinance dropped from 14% in Q1 to 9% in Q2 and unregulated refinance fell from 11% in Q1 to 6% in Q2. Borrowers are ensuring they’re not encumbering themselves with unmanageable debt and this is reflected in the fact that the average loan-to-value (LTV) only rose from 52% in Q1 to 55% in Q2. That the average monthly interest rate fell marginally from 0.82% in Q1 to 0.81% also suggests that borrowers are not taking on high-risk loans.
The average term remained static at 12 months. According to Knowledge Bank, the search terms made by UK bridging finance brokers that saw the biggest changes were ‘cross collateral charges’, ‘lease extension before completion’ and ‘holiday lets’.
A common-sense approach from MT Finance
If your clients are in need of fast access to funds then we are here to help. Our dedicated regulated and unregulated bridging teams work hard to find bespoke solutions that deliver. Lending decisions are often made within hours of an inquiry and cases can often be completed in only a few days. AVMs are also offered on qualifying regulated and unregulated bridging finance applications, up to a maximum LTV of 65%, and a maximum property value of £750,000. An AVM can further expediate the application process.
To find out more, simply fill in this form and we’ll get in touch as soon as possible.
*Bridging Trends combines bridging loan completions from several specialist finance packagers operating within the UK bridging market: AFIG, Brightstar Financial, Brilliant Solutions, Capital B, Clever Lending, Clifton Private Finance, Complete FS, Enness, Impact Specialist Finance, LDNfinance, Optimum Elite and Sirius Finance. The data for top broker criteria searches is supplied by Knowledge Bank.
