At this time of year, it is traditional to look forward to the coming 12 months and set out some ideas and expectations for the market during that time. Having taken on my new role at the ASTL on 1 January 2020, I’m going to go a little further, and talk about my thoughts for the future of this great association.

Firstly though, it is important for me to highlight and recognise the fantastic legacy which my predecessor, Benson Hersch, has left following his years in the hot seat at ASTL. When he first took the role in 2012, annual bridging completions were at £885m, and today they total more than £4bn. What’s more, the latest sentiment survey from members of the ASTL shows that nearly three-quarters (72%) of bridging lenders expect their business to grow in the coming months and more than half of lenders expect the market to grow.

This survey was conducted in advance of the General Election and now that we have a majority Government we should expect them to deliver added confidence to the property market, so perhaps it’s fair to predict that lenders may be looking forward even more positively than these figures suggest.

There will undoubtedly be challenges ahead, but we have a competitive and well-respected market, which has a real opportunity to increase its reach to more customers and extend its distribution through more brokers. This means engaging with brokers who have not traditionally advised on bridging and working closely with networks and packagers to initiate more conversations about short term lending.

So, how do we do this and what role can the ASTL play?
I have some ideas, but I don’t have all the answers and so my first weeks as CEO have been filled with conversations with our members and other businesses within our industry to identify a way of moving forward that provides everybody with an opportunity to contribute and create added value for all those involved.

A trade association can only be successful if it delivers a positive difference to businesses and my role will be to ensure we are delivering this for every one of our members and associate members. I’m also keen to grow the membership and hope people will feel comfortable contacting me to discuss the benefits.

A truly great strength of the ASTL is the rigorous process we go through before accepting members, which means that membership is very much a kitemark of quality. We plan to do more to promote this kitemark within our industry and beyond to demonstrate our commitment to high standards and instill greater confidence amongst brokers, customers and regulatory authorities.

It's fair to say that the UK is still at somewhat of a crossroads and so too is the bridging sector. It has a huge opportunity to grow and prosper in the future. My role and the role of the ASTL will be to help deliver on this opportunity in a way that is sustainable, responsible and of benefit to everyone involved.

Vic Jannels, CEO of the ASTL

A version of this article appeared in the January digital edition of Business Moneyfacts

London is set for rental growth of 18.8% over the next five years, according to figures that were revealed at the ASTL Conference last week.

In his presentation to delegates, Lucian Cook, Director of Residential Research at Savills, discussed slides which showed that while London rental prices have grown by just 0.9% in the last year, the rest of the GB has grown by 1.5%.

However, over the next five years Savills forecasts London rental prices to grow by 18.8% compared to a UK average excluding London of just 13.1%. Over the same period, UK income is forecast to grow by 15.6%, so while UK rental growth will lag behind this, rental prices in London are expected to outstretch income growth.

Benson Hersch, CEO of the ASTL says: “Property investors have had to endure a lot of change with increased taxation and regulation in recent years, at a time when rental growth has been relatively flat, particularly in London. So, it will be reassuring for them that the demand for rental property is forecast to put upwards pressure on rental prices, especially as capital growth continues to be subdued.

“This demand for rental property presents opportunity for investors, many of whom may choose to facilitate capital appreciation by renovating property to let to tenants – and this is good news for the short-term lending sector.

“I’d like to thank Lucian for his incredibly entertaining and informative presentation at our conference last week, which proved to be a valuable event for all who attended.”


The Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL) has named Vic Jannels as its new CEO to replace Benson Hersch from 1 January 2020.

Vic has gained nearly 50 years’ experience in the secured lending industry, holding senior management positions in the lender, packager and broker sectors, as well as spending several years co-opted onto the board of AMI. He currently also holds the role of Executive Chairman at Impact Specialist Finance, where he leads their Bridging and Commercial specialist team and is a director of One Mortgage System (OMS). Vic has been honoured with numerous achievement awards for his dedicated service to the industry.

Vic Jannels, CEO of the ASTL, says: “The bridging industry is at a critical point in its history. The market has delivered significant growth in recent years, but increased competition and economic uncertainty mean that it is more important than ever for lenders to maintain high standards of governance. Thanks to the magnificent efforts of Benson over the past seven years, the ASTL is the most prominent and well-respected organisation in this space, with an opportunity to unite the market and lead the way into a successful and sustainable future. I am both honoured and excited to have the opportunity to take the helm and shape the course of this fantastic industry.”

Benson Hersch, outgoing CEO of the ASTL, says: “I’m very pleased to be able to hand over the reins to such a well-respected individual to write the next chapter for this great organisation. I have every confidence that Vic will continue the good work of the ASTL, giving fresh impetus to our image and membership, and I wish him all the best in the role.”

Press Release, Thursday 14 November 2019

Trade associations, like the ASTL, can promote effective self-regulation, which could make further FCA intervention in the bridging sector unnecessary, according to former FCA mortgage manager, Lynda Blackwell.

Speaking at the ASTL Annual Conference last week, Lynda Blackwell said that she didn’t think full regulation of the bridging market would happen any time soon, adding that “it’s something that is down to you [the bridging sector] to make sure you react in the right way”.

Blackwell said that any regulation is always targeted towards the “bad apples” in an industry and that trade associations and members of those bodies had a responsibility to call out bad practice as this would provide evidence that the market was able to self-regulate.

Benson Hersch, CEO of the ASTL says: “Regulation of our market may not be on the imminent horizon, but we all need to be cognisant it is always a possibility and that any regulation will be targeted at the worst offenders, so could be heavy handed and restrictive to customer choice and innovation.

“Lynda highlighted the important role that trade associations play in maintaining standards, calling out bad practice and ensuring we can build a sustainable market that benefits both our customers and our participants. This doesn’t happen on its own and we all need to pull together to ensure that lenders lend responsibly, following the rules of the market in which we want to operate, rather than have those rules imposed on us.

“I’d like to thank Lynda for her incredibly insightful and thought-provoking presentation at our conference last week, which proved to be a valuable event for all who attended.”

 The latest sentiment survey from the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL) shows that bridging lenders have grown in confidence about the outlook for the UK economy, their own business and the bridging sector. 

The research, which was conducted amongst members of the ASTL shortly after the date was confirmed for the upcoming General Election, found that more than 75% of bridging lenders are confident about the long-term prospects for the UK economy, compared to just 50% when the survey was last run in June. 

Lenders have also grown in confidence about the prospects for their own business. Nearly three-quarters (72%) said they expect their business to grow over the next six months, which is up from 59% in the last survey. 

This positive outlook is reflected in the expectations of respondents for the turnover of the bridging sector. Just over half of lenders (52%) said that they expect the market to grow in the next six months, compared to less than a quarter (23%) who anticipated growth in June. 

Throughout this period, lenders also expect modest growth in competition from other lenders and competition is no longer seen as the biggest challenge for bridging lenders. It has been replaced by the slow-moving property market, which was identified as the main hurdle by 55% of respondents. 

Another interesting trend from the survey is that, while in January 2019 75% of respondents said that they would vote to remain in the European Union if there were a second referendum, most lenders would now choose to leave with Boris Johnson’s deal. 

Benson Hersch, CEO at the ASTL, says: “Overall, our members are very positive about prospects for the UK, their own businesses and the bridging sector as a whole. Competition is expected to increase slightly in the next six months, but this seems to hold little concern for our members, and the downward slope in positivity has been reversed. It is hoped that the general feeling of positivity will turn out to be realistic and we look forward to a great end to 2019 and an even better year ahead in 2020.”

Press Release, Wednesday, 13 November 2019

The ASTL Positivity Index

 

  1. Facing the Challenges Ahead. Solid foundations from which to move forward
  2. ASTL announces new Board of Directors
  3. Whitehall Capital joins The Association of Short Term Lenders
  4. Bridging lending breaks new records in Q2 2019