As the bridging market continues to thrive amidst increasing complexity, we’ve asked our expert panel to share where they’ve had to adapt criteria to get deals over the line. With the economic outlook shifting, we’ll also explore whether signs of borrower distress are starting to emerge and how that could influence credit policy over the coming year.
We’ll dive into how lenders are reassessing exit strategies, especially in light of tighter refinancing conditions, and discuss the innovations, both in tech and process that are helping reduce time to offer and drawdown. Finally, we’ll examine the growing role of AI in lending decisions and consider how bridging lenders are preparing for upcoming Consumer Duty reviews, particularly in the unregulated space.
The Panel
David Coleman, Head of Sales at Positive Lending
Jamie Pritchard, Sales Director at MS Lending Group
Roz Cawood, Managing Director – Property Finance at StreamBank
Alan Kimber, Head of Bridging at Precise.
DC – The short-term lending market remains busy but increasingly more complex, can you provide examples of where you’ve flexed criteria in recent months to get deals done, and how far are you willing to go now?
RC – We’ve certainly seen more nuanced scenarios recently, particularly around exit planning and multiple securities. For me this is the nature of Bridging, and we need to understand the full picture which sometimes warrants some flexibility on criteria such as valuation types, price, and term. That said, our flexibility is always grounded in transparency, strong security, and realistic exits — we’re not chasing volume at the expense of prudence.
JP – It starts with understanding the full picture – client objectives, asset quality, and deal structure. On our 85% light refurb product, we’ve flexed the percentage of works allowed against the purchase price where the borrower is experienced and the deal stacks up. While we advertise a £3m max loan, we’ve gone well above that where the strength of the deal justifies it. We’ve also flexed on asset types and, in select cases, considered desktop valuations on higher-value properties. Every deal is assessed on its merits, so it’s always worth running the full case past us.
AK – Bridging is a busy space at the moment and some of the deals come with complexity. Getting the full story and detail upfront allows us to work through and tailor the correct lending decision for the individual client/scenario. We have experienced teams in place within sales and underwriting who have seen most scenarios so are well placed to support our introducers. We also have recently introduced our Specialist Property Solutions team to assist with the most complex and larger value cases; their introduction has seen some really interesting cases come across our desk. As always we have to consider our risk appetite on these deals and the plausibility of the deal in terms of the ability to exit the transaction.
DC – Are you seeing any early indicators of distress that may shape your credit policy in the next 6–12 months?
RC – We’re seeing increased bridging term extensions and delays in planned exits, especially for sale-based strategies. Construction timelines are slipping, and refinance options are tightening with bank appetite softening. These trends suggest we may need to build in more contingency at underwriting and secondary exit routes.
JP – We’re not seeing widespread distress, but this environment reinforces the value of prudent underwriting. That starts with a sales team that truly understands the deal—shaping terms that reflect the client’s strength and the realism of their exit. Of course, not every deal goes exactly to plan, which is why we have a team that actively engages with borrowers to help them find a successful way out. We’re in a fortunate position—our loan book and back end are where we want them to be, and that allows us to stay focused on quality rather than firefighting.
AK – We are always watching the macro and micro conditions to ensure that our credit policy is appropriate and sit withing our risk appetite. At present the UK property market is holding up well despite some of the external factors, our book perfoms strongly as can be seen from our recent results.
DC – With refinancing conditions still tight, are you rethinking how you assess exit strategies, particularly those reliant on sale or development?
RC – We’re placing more emphasis on multi-layered exit plans — not just a single-point reliance on sale or refinance. We’re stress-testing valuations more conservatively, considering achievable sale periods, and looking for credible fallback options.
JP – We always analyse each deal on its own merits – there’s no one-sizefits-all approach. While we don’t enforce a minimum interest or term period, we’re careful not to allow terms that are too short and could create pressure if the primary exit doesn’t go to plan. We put real value on working with experienced, repeat borrowers—prudent investors who’ve done this many times before. Since we lend on day one and focus on light refurb at most, we’re comfortable with typical 12-month timeframes, especially on auction purchases where value can be added quickly and LTV on exit remains strong.
AK – As a prudent lender that is experienced in the bridging market we have robust processes to manage exit strategies. We utilise our experienced underwriting and Real Estate team in the lending process and ensure we are engaged with the borrowers and the brokers during the life of the loan where appropriate.
DC – What innovations in tech or process automation are you leveraging to genuinely reduce time to offer and drawdown?
RC – We’ve streamlined document handling and ID verification using digital onboarding tools, and we’ve integrated automated valuation models (AVMs) where appropriate to speed up initial decisions. This is shaving days off offer times, though we still prioritise human judgment on complex deals.
JP – We’ve invested heavily in a new CRM system that will automate key functions and give brokers more control over the speed of their deals. Our three pillars—fast, flexible, and reliable—are reflected in the fact that 86% of our funded deals in 2024 benefited from AVMs or desktop valuations. That kind of automation keeps things moving quickly without compromising quality.
But while we embrace tech, we don’t believe it should replace human interaction. We’ve just moved into fantastic new offices and invested in growing the team—because people still make the difference. For us, tech should enhance the broker and borrower experience, not replace it.
AK – You can see from some of our recent criteria changes to our AVM policy that we are looking at ways of improving the journey and speed in our bridging process. We are continuing to invest in our lending platforms and there will be more improvements over the next 12 months.
DC – Are you exploring any AI or machine learning tools to better assess borrower intent, exit strategy realism, or deal quality?
RC – Although we’re not actively using AI we are exploring the tools and benefits it could offer us. For example we are exploring AI for risk flagging and pattern recognition across historic deals.
JP – AI is here to stay, and it’s an area we continue to monitor closely. We’re always looking at how it could support decision-making, enhance due diligence, and improve the overall customer journey—particularly in helping us spot patterns, identify potential risks earlier, or streamline parts of the process.
That said, any adoption must complement—not replace—the judgment and relationships that define our approach. We believe the best outcomes come from combining smart technology with experienced people who understand the nuances of a deal.
AK – AI and machine learning can offer significant advantages when evaluating borrower intent, exit strategy realism, and deal quality in lending. We think by harnessing these tools, lenders can move beyond traditional methods, making data-driven decisions that are more informed, faster, and potentially more accurate. However as a lender that works in the specialist market we also recognise the value of underwriting experience particularly in some of the more complex deals that we see.
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