Short-term business finance 'unaffected by economic downturn' - commercial mortgages

23 September 2008

The UK's short-term finance sector has been unaffected by the credit crunch, it has been claimed.

Research from commercial lender Mathon has found that firms offering short-term 'bridging loans' are still confident about the sector, reports TheBusinessDesk.com.

It showed that 88 per cent of respondents thought that opportunities in the market were just as good as last year.

Chief executive officer Andrew Sobolewski commented: "The commercial bridging sector has had to adapt and diversify in order to continue being a much valued feature of the UK property finance market."

He added that despite the economic slowdown, the industry remains "robust".

The report noted that 70 per cent of bridging loans trade is created due to land and property acquisition, redevelopment or refurbishment.

In other recent commercial lending news, Nationwide took over the Derbyshire building society - which was having trouble with its sub-prime and commercial mortgages portfolio - along with the Cheshire building society.