Bridging completions fall to £1.6bn as regulated deals rise to 48%
Lender figures show a second quarter of slowdown. Broker data shows borrowers turning to regulated and second-charge bridges.
The lenders' figures
Bridging and development lenders completed £1.6bn of loans in the three months to 30 June 2026, 15.2% less than in the first quarter, according to Bridging & Development Lenders Association (BDLA) figures reported on 22 September 2026. Applications fell 26.3% to £7.3bn.1,2
Members' loan books fell 10.6% to £10.3bn at the end of June. Second-charge bridging completions were £101.1m, down from £131.3m, and the average loan to value rose to 57.66% from 56.64%. The value of loans in default fell 0.4% on the quarter.1
The second quarter followed a weaker first. In the three months to 31 March, completions fell to £1.8bn from £2.5bn at the end of 2025, according to the BDLA's own release.3
Adam Tyler, the BDLA's chief executive, said: "These figures show that the slowdown in lending activity continued into the second quarter of this year." He added: "A slower-moving housing market is putting downward pressure on new business pipelines."1
The BDLA hasn't published its second-quarter figures on its own website; those above come from trade coverage of its release.
What brokers placed
Brokers contributing to Bridging Trends, the quarterly survey run by lender MT Finance, arranged £173.1m of bridging in the second quarter, 15% less than the first quarter's £199.2m. Regulated bridges rose to 48% of their deals from 41%, and second-charge bridges to 22% from 9%.4
Preventing a chain break and buying an investment property were the most common uses, at 18% of deals each. The average monthly rate eased to 0.81% from 0.82%, the average loan to value rose to 55% from 52%, and the average term stayed at 12 months.4
Bridging Trends covers loans arranged by its contributing brokers, a slice of the market rather than all of it.4
Complaints and the rules
The Financial Ombudsman Service received 25 new bridging loan complaints between April and June 2026. It publishes no uphold rate where it resolved fewer than 30 cases.5
The FCA has proposed letting regulated bridges run for up to 24 months, including extensions, in FCA CP26/18. It found 92.7% of regulated bridges taken out in 2024 had a 12-month term. A policy statement is due in the second half of 2026.6
Sources
- 1The Intermediary, “Bridging and development lending completions fall 15.2% in Q2 – BDLA (22 September 2026)”BDLA Q2 2026 completions, applications, loan books, second-charge completions, LTV, defaults and Adam Tyler's comments.
- 2Mortgage Solutions, “BDLA reports slowdown in bridging activity (22 September 2026)”BDLA Q2 2026 completions and applications.
- 3Bridging & Development Lenders Association, “Bridging market adjusts after strong growth cycle as sector confidence remains (12 June 2026)”Q1 2026 completions of £1.8bn against £2.5bn in Q4 2025.
- 4MT Finance, “Bridging Trends: savvy borrowers focus on speed & equity release in Q2 (25 August 2026)”Contributor lending, rates, LTV, term, regulated and second-charge shares, and loan purposes for Q2 2026.
- 5Financial Ombudsman Service, “Quarterly complaints data: Q1 2026/27 (22 July 2026)”25 new bridging loan complaints; no uphold rate under 30 resolved cases.
- 6FCA, “CP26/18: Mortgage Rule Review (June 2026), consultation paper PDF”The proposed 24-month term (paras 7.17–7.18) and the 92.7% figure (para 7.11).
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