Hope springs eternal in wake of Brexit vote

HOPE Capital, the privately owned and funded bridging lender based in Merseyside, has increased its lending by 50% in the first half of this year, compared to the first half of 2015.

This follows on from completing its largest ever loan in the week following the EU referendum, a £3.9m loan on a student residential scheme in Stoke on Trent.

Both the number and value of loans have increased significantly this year and show little sign of the pace slowing.

To the end of June, Hope had sent out loan offers equivalent to £181.8m. The biggest demand has been for refurbishment loans for investors to refurbish a property either for sale or let, or change of use schemes where properties are adapted from commercial to residential.

Jonathan Sealey, chief executive officer of Hope Capital said: “This is our fifth year of trading and every year we have grown, but this year has been exceptional and continues to be so.  

“Rather than demand dropping off after the Brexit vote, we have seen it continue to grow, particularly amongst brokers who have found that larger lenders struggling for funding who can no longer meet their demand for loans.

“As a principal lender with our own funds, it means that we have a guaranteed supply of funds. This means that when we say ‘yes’ to a loan, it means ‘yes’, and also means that we can complete on a loan and get the money into the borrower’s account in just a number of days.”