MFS lends £45 million during lockdown 2.0

By Bridging Loan Directory 9th December 2020

Market Financial Solutions (MFS) has recorded its strongest November on record, with £45 million worth of bridging loans deployed in the second lockdown.

The London-based lender has seen a large rise in the amount it lent last month when compared to November 2019.

It transpired while England was under a nationwide lockdown and included some large loans – a requirement proving difficult to source funding for in the current market.

MFS states it has been particularly busy providing loans to property buyers who were at risk of their transactions falling through due to other lenders withdrawing products.

The bridging lender experienced high demand from clients who had been let down by other lenders.

The economic uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the number of investors and homebuyers having mortgages withdrawn later on in a transaction, despite the loans having been agreed to in principle.

In response to this trend, in August MFS launched a dedicated COVID-19 recovery fund – the lender has set aside a £60 million pot to ensure loans can be issued quickly to those at risk of a transaction falling through.

All of November’s loans came from this fund, which is constantly replenished.

Paresh Raja, pictured, CEO of MFS, said:

“MFS has not been succeeding in spite of COVID-19 but because of it.

The pandemic has left many thousands of homebuyers and property investors scrambling for finance after another lender pulled out – reliable firms with strong credit lines, such as MFS, have been well placed to step in and ensure these transactions go ahead.

For us, the priority throughout 2020 has been to fully commit to supporting clients – when we say yes, we mean yes.

This certainly isn’t true of all lenders, and many property buyers have learnt that the hard way in recent months.

We’re now looking forward to a successful 2021 as we continue to grow the network of brokers and private clients that we work with.”