unique issues and circumstances. What intermediaries get from bridg- ing lenders is an old-fashioned, personal approach where you deal with a human being and not an automated system or faceless credit scoring. Simply put, bridging loans are not a mass commodity as they require signifi- cant input and thought from intermedi- aries, case managers, credit departments and solicitors – even valuers occasion- ally have to provide significant addi- tional input to get a loan completed. To compare bridging lenders based on


volume is like evaluating a painter or musician merely on the volume of work produced rather than its quality. Another benefit to brokers of this hands-on approach is that more estab- lished lenders are able to draw on the experience and skills of their teams, and in our case a broad number of individu- als with extensive finance and banking expertise, to structure complex deals. Accordingly, we are able to help out in less usual cases such as where customers are offshore companies or trusts or where the customers reside or have busi- nesses abroad. This is of course pro- vided that they are offering English or Welsh property as security.


The exit route It is worth reiterating that there is a com- mon denominator between all the sce- narios outlined above; one that applies to all bridging loans, no matter how low the LTV, how good the quality of the security or how strong the customer’s financial standing.


It is the existence of the repayment or


exit route. This is crucial to lenders and borrowers, and without it there is a risk of future problems being created. Historically, even before the credit


crunch made refinancing more chal- lenging, a significant part of many brid - ging lenders’ books were made up of non-performing loans. Today, responsible lenders and finan- cial intermediaries take greater care


The


than ever to ensure the exit route exists. But it is important not to confuse a


clear and credible exit with a closed one. One of the other ways that the flexi-


bility of bridging loans manifests itself is that the exit can take many forms and many different degrees of progress. For instance, where the take-out is by


way of sale of a property – not necessar- ily the security property – contracts don’t need to be exchanged. The property being sold doesn’t even need to be on the market at the time the loan is drawn down. What matters is that first, there is a


property to be sold, second, that it can be sold, and third, that proceeds from the sale, alone or with monies that can be evidenced as being realistically obtain- able through other means, will be suffi- cient to repay the bridging loan. Also, as far as one can tell through


diligent enquiry, the customer must intend to market the property at a real- istic price and genuinely wish to sell. Responsible bridging lenders offer


flexibility with regard to exit route, pro- vided that it is credible and, if necessary and appropriate, provable.


Conclusion So in summary, bridging loans have developed a high level of flexibility and creativity. For those intermediaries who have


clients with appropriate equity in their property assets, UTB’s bridging depart- ment and the broader bridging market as a whole, are able to provide a bespoke, flexible product. It also provides direct access to indi- viduals with the relevant expertise and replaces computers and call centres which intermediaries will have experi- enced in other loan areas. Flexible and fast short-term bridging


loans offer intermediaries and their cus- tomers opportunities to complete trans- actions that would otherwise almost certainly be denied to them if these loans did not exist.


 guide to Bridging Finance 2012 31


GUIDE TO BRIDGING FINANCE


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