ASTL appoints new executive committee

The Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL) has today announced its new executive committee for the upcoming year. The new board will take effect as of the 1^st September 2017.  The board will continue to comprise seven directors who will act as a guiding influence, while providing direction and decision making to the Association.

Benson Hersch, CEO of the ASTL, will be joined by six additional board members: Adrian Bloomfield (Barton Bridging Capital), Brian West (Central Bridging), Emma Ryan (Amicus Finance Plc), Gavin Diamond (UTB), James Bloom (Masthaven Bank) and Scott Marshall (Roma Finance).

Due to the membership’s rules, all members of the committee, except the CEO, have to retire after serving a maximum of two years.  Every year, those interested in taking up the available spaces on the committee, put their names forward and are then democratically elected by the ASTL’s wider membership. On this occasion as the committee was short of one member, Scott Marshall of Roma Finance has agreed to remain on the board for an additional year even though he has already completed his statutory two-year stint.

Benson Hersch, CEO of the ASTL says, “I am confident that the new executive committee will continue to work to raise standards within the ASTL and its wider membership, while also increasing awareness of the value of bridging while and the short term secured lending market.

“I would like to say a special thank you to Jonathan Sealey, CEO of Hope Capital, and Jon Hall, managing director at Masthaven, who have served on the committee for the past two years. Their continued commitment and support has helped the association to grow to record membership levels.”

The membership currently stands at 37 members and 30 associate members the highest it has ever achieved. 

Press release 22 August 2017

ASTL announces Lorna O’Brien, FCA, and Peter Andrews, BOE, as speakers at its annual conference

• Fifth annual conference to take place on 14^th September
• Speakers to include the FCA’s Lorna O’Brien; with full line up to be revealed

The Association of Short Term Lenders will hold its annual conference on 14th September 2017, at Painter’s Hall, London, with Lorna O’Brien, FCA and Peter Andrews, Bank of England, confirmed as speakers.

The subject of this year’s conference is ‘Brexit and Bridging’ and will focus on how the bridging loans industry and the property market is likely to respond to the opportunities and challenges created by the UK’s decision to leave the EU.  The conference brings together leading figures across bridging, finance and politics to debate the latest industry trends and put forward ideas and predictions.

The first announced speaker is Lorna O’Brien, Technical Specialist in the Mortgage Sector team at the Financial Conduct Authority. She was the policy lead on responsible lending for the Mortgage Market Review, and will bring over 20 years mortgage industry experience to give insight into the FCA’s views on the market. In addition she will provide a broader update on compliance and regulation in bridging and short term credit.

Peter Andrews will be giving an off the record briefing on the broad economic and financial outlook from the Bank of England. Peter became Agent for Greater London in 2007 and has been at the Bank since 1979 in various roles.

Last year’s conference was sold out in advance, attended by more than 160 people, with this year’s expected to exceed that number. The full line up of speakers for the fifth annual event will be released in the coming weeks.

Benson Hersch, chief executive of the ASTL said: “The decision to leave the EU has been one of the biggest political events in our recent history, but it is still not clear what the impact will be. This is as true for the credit, property and bridging sectors as it is for any other parts of the economy. With Article 50 now activated, and the countdown to Brexit underway, it is now more crucial than ever that we as an industry are proactive and engage with the potential challenges we may face.

“We have seen the demand for long and short term loans rise steadily over recent months, but any major economic changes need to be properly assessed in order to secure continued success for the future.

 “This conference brings together leading decision makers and commentators to address the situation presented by Brexit, as well as to provide insight into the current state of the economy, the housing market, and the future for lending and finance.”

Full event details:

Date: Thursday 14 September 2017

Time: 8.45am – 3.30pm (breakfast/lunch is included)

Venue: Painters’ Hall, 9 Little Trinity Lane, London, EC4V 2AD

The conference is open to lenders, financial advisers, intermediaries, surveyors and anyone else who is interested in the short term lending market.  Register for the conference via our website www.theastl.org or please contact Kay Woolley at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on 01494 618462.

To find out more about the ASTL please visit: www.theastl.org

Press Release 14 August 2017

Value of bridging loans written by ASTL members exceeds £3billion for the first time

Figures on the size of the bridging market show no sign of any slowdown – instead they continue to gather pace. The figures for Q2 2017 are compiled by the ASTL’s auditors from its bridging lender members.   The magic figure of £3billion of loans written in a year has finally been exceeded; up from £2.8billion for the year ended 31 June 2016.

Results for the quarter were excellent, showing sustained positive growth.  The quarter saw record highs for loans written of £875 million while applications received totalled £4.9 billion. Total loan books have bounced back, with a rise of 5.8% compared to 31 March and 10.6% up on 30 June 2016, but the pattern remains erratic. 

The value of loans written increased 12.1% on Q1 2017 and up a remarkable 17.8% on Q1 2016.   Annual growth in loans written, comparing the year ending June 2017 to June 2016, showed a more modest 6.7% growth, but that’s not to be sneezed at in these tougher times.

The pace of increase in applications has increased a whopping 39.6% compared to the same quarter a year ago, while the figures for the year ending June 2017 show an even greater increase of 56.6% compared to year ended June 2016.  Only the quarter-on-quarter application figures showed a minimal increase.

All this shows that the bridging industry remains in rude health.  

Benson Hersch, CEO of the ASTL says, “The increase in positivity shown by members in a recent sentiment survey seems to be reflected in the latest figures.   It remains to be seen how the ebb and flow of Brexit negotiations will affect the sector, but the market remains good for the time being.    Barring unexpected jolts to the economy, I expect a period of consolidation ahead, especially with the increasing likelihood of interest rate rises.”

These figures are taken from the responses from ASTL members, which include most of the key lenders in the bridging market.

Highlighted trends:

	Quarter ended  30 Jun 2017 compared to Quarter ended    31 Mar 2017		Quarter ended  30 Jun 2017 compared to Quarter ended    30 Jun 2016		Year ended  30 Jun 2017 compared to Year ended 30 Jun 2016
Loans written (£)	+12.1%		+ 17.8%		+6.7%
Loan book (£)*	+5.8%		+10.6%		+10.6%
Applications (£)	+0.9%		+39.6%		+56.6%

 

Press Release, Thursday August 17, 2017

Are we living in a fool’s paradise?

In a recent survey of ASTL members it was somewhat surprising that despite increasing lack of confidence about the future of the UK economy, respondents remain confidence in the performance of their businesses.   No less than 70 per cent expect their business volumes to grow, 24 per cent expect volumes to remain constant and only 6 per cent expect shrinkage.   Their expectations for the bridging industry as a whole are only slightly less optimistic, with 59 per cent expecting growth, 29 per cent expecting current volumes to remain more or less static; and 12 per cent expecting shrinkage.

This is despite the fact that 41 per cent expect property prices to decrease.   It raises the question – are they living in a fool’s paradise, or is there some logic in these figures?   My view, possibly foolish, is that there is logic.   As the growth in property prices slows or even reverses, mainstream lenders are likely to react by becoming more cautious, with tougher criteria and lower LTVs.   This represents an opportunity for bridging lenders.   A positive trend seems to be that, as smaller lenders who operate under the radar find that the risk-reward ratio is not what they thought it would be, brokers are directing customer to more professional providers.

As knowledge of the uses of bridging finance increases and bridging firms increase the scope of their offerings, volumes will continue to increase.   Bridging is there to enable businesses to grow, to take advantage of opportunities and make decisions without having to wait interminably for answers.   It’s not the cost of funding that is the issue, but the opportunity cost of not being able to do a transaction that is more important.     Maybe it’s time to call this form of funding “project finance” or “short term finance” rather than “bridging”.

This doesn’t mean that traditional bridging, primarily in the owner-occupied regulated area, is not still an important means of allowing consumers to realise their objectives.  What is notable is that bridging is becoming more professional, both by providers and borrowers.   The ASTL has been in the forefront of encouraging lenders to conduct business in a professional way, irrespective of whether the loan is subject to regulation or not. 

 

By Benson Hersch, CEO of the ASTL

A version of this article appeared in the August 2017 edition of Mortgage Strategy