The Intermediary – May 2025 - Flipbook - Page 59
SPECIALIST FINANCE
Opinion
Complex cases
rise as bridging
demand evolves
A
s reported recently
in trade news,
the bridging
finance landscape
is changing,
and brokers are
increasingly faced with more complex
client scenarios.
Greenfield Bridging has also seen
a noticeable rise in cases involving
buy-to-let (BTL) restructuring,
impaired credit, and time-sensitive
opportunities that fall outside
traditional lending criteria.
It all points to what we already
know – that the mainstream is not
meeting clients’ needs.
Built for today
Bridging has always been a space for
solutions, but recent months have
shown how essential it has become
to help brokers manage the growing
pressure to place challenging deals.
Many clients no longer fit within
the narrow frameworks set by
mainstream lenders, including
portfolio landlords needing to release
equity mid-refurbishment, or
borrowers with historical credit issues
who have strong security and a clear
repayment plan.
Then there’s the fact that most of
the process takes too damn long for the
average human, let alone a client that
is profit-orientated.
Lending landscape
The complexity isn’t limited to any
single type of borrower. Shis in
tax policy, tighter regulation, and
the lasting effects of rate volatility
have all contributed to a fragmented
and sometimes unpredictable
lending landscape.
As a result, brokers must think
more laterally and lean more heavily
on relationships with lenders that can
approach cases quickly and flexibly,
such as bridging finance providers.
Bridging has also evolved in terms
of professionalism, competitive rates,
regulation, and approach to clients
over the last decade, making it a viable
alternative to mainstream lending.
In many cases, Bridging is for those
who don’t always tick boxes on paper,
but it may be suitable for lending
when looking at the wider financial
circumstances, such as exit strategies.
Though providers vary, brokers
are adept at quickly geing a feel
for what each lender is like to do
business with, from the initial
helpfulness and knowledge of the
business development manager
(BDM) – especially if they’re trained
underwriters – to the criteria and
appetite for risk for each client’s
circumstances.
Aer all, the client will come back
to a broker again and again if they fix
the situation quickly and recommend
a lender that is fast, affordable for
their circumstances, and has excellent
customer service.
Backing broker ingenuity
Bridging finance remains a powerful
tool for creating liquidity and
seizing opportunity, especially when
conventional routes are too slow or
restrictive. In this environment, the
ability to assess each case on its own
merits, without forcing it into a fixed
template, is critical.
For brokers, having access to
bridging lenders that take a pragmatic,
experience-led view can be the
difference between a deal completing
or falling away.
Bridging lenders, like all finance
providers, have varying criteria and
different appetites for risk, requiring
the right fit between the client and the
lender. However, bridging by nature is
RICHARD KEEN
is national sales manager
at Greenfield Bridging
Bridging finance
remains a powerful tool
for creating liquidity
and seizing opportunity,
especially when
conventional routes
are too slow or
restrictive”
different, and there is an expectation
that bridging is considered due to
circumstances that the broker knows
won’t work with mainstream lenders.
What has shied is the extent of
those circumstances, the demand,
and the flexibility of bridging to
meet them.
Built for brokers
Bridging lenders must listen intently
to brokers to understand what they
must achieve for their clients as the
lending landscape changes.
Bridging providers that can respond
quickly, make considered decisions,
and remain consistent even as
market conditions shi, will become
preferred partners for brokers.
As complex scenarios become more
common, the value of bridging lies in
the product and the people delivering
it. For brokers, that means choosing
lending partners that understand the
nuances, ask the right questions, and
help them find workable answers, no
maer how intricate the case. ●
May 2025 | The Intermediary
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