North West is a booming bridging market

By Bridging Loan Directory 3rd September 2018

Roma Finance, the bridging and development finance lender, has seen a significant increase in its lending in the North West in the first half of 2018.

For all of England and Wales, H1 lending volumes for Roma also show an increase of 80% compared to the same period in 2017, with a growing proportion of this increase coming from bridging in the North West.

Recent market data shows key cities in the North West are performing well in the property sector, with Stockport, Bolton, Manchester and Warrington all appearing in the Co-Star top ten for commercial property activity. The recent Hometrack House Price Index also highlights Manchester and Liverpool as cities with the fastest house price growth demonstrating booming economies and that they are desirable locations to live.

With regeneration a key strategic aim for many north west towns, Roma Finance are helping an increasing number of experienced developers benefit from a favourable environment to renovate and convert a wide range of property across the region. With improving transport links and the promise of more to come, the North West is proving to be an exciting place for businesses and for people to live and work.

Roma’s lending success has come from improved processes and market-leading products, with the result that they are also growing their BDM and underwriting teams to cope with current and future demand, throughout England and Wales.

Scott Marshall, pictured, managing director at Roma Finance, commented:

“Although we lend throughout England and wales, we’ve seen some tremendous projects in the North West and this has become a huge growth area for us. There’s a high demand for property conversions, for example we have just enhanced our facility to £1.52m on our largest ever case in Manchester as it now has planning for 30 apartments (up from 26) with underground parking. And in Liverpool we have helped numerous customers including one who’s now on their 6^th deal with us, having made almost £1m on their last transaction.

“There’s a greater demand than ever before, and we are now rapidly growing the team so more introducers and developers can benefit from the opportunities our bridging finance solutions can provide.”