{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Bridging Finance","title":"Bridging Finance: 2026 Market Outlook | Rates, Products and the 55 Day Completion","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":535,"description":"Bridging finance is short term property lending that moves at the speed a transaction demands, and in 2026 it is a mainstream market: a loan book of 10.3 billion pounds, roughly 280 million pounds of gross lending a quarter, and around 45 percent of it regulated lending secured on homes, according to the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL) and the industry tracker Bridging Trends. In this pillar episode, host Georgina walks through what a bridging loan actually costs this year, how specialist lenders size one, and the five jobs bridging is doing across the UK property market, with every figure drawn from the published data rather than guesswork. The written analysis behind the episode, by Matt Lenzie, lives at Bridging Finance.The numbers this episode coversBridging loan rates average 0.88 percent a month across the market, with strong cases priced from around 0.5 percent (Bridging Trends, 2025). Average leverage sits at 60 percent loan to value, and most first charge bridging loans are written between 55 and 75 percent LTV. The average term is 12 months inside a 1 to 24 month product range, and the average completion takes 55 days from enquiry to money out, while a well prepared case completes in 2 to 3 weeks. The backdrop to all of it is a Bank of England base rate held at 3.75 percent since December 2025. What separates a 0.5 percent case from the average, and a 20 day completion from a 55 day one, is exactly what the episode unpacks: leverage, charge position, the property itself, the strength of the exit, and the borrower behind the loan. The bridging loan product guide sets out the same mechanics in writing.Chapters00:00 Welcome and who we are00:51 The backdrop: base rate and the size of the UK bridging market01:42 What a bridging loan is and why the exit drives everything02:27 The numbers: average rates, loan to value and completion times03:22 Chain breaks and regulated bridging on the borrower's own home03:43 Auction finance and the 28 day completion...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/Ih4yuQBqXYr_fP2069CH08pabF4EBwm17qf4P7QOlD8/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9hN2My/ZGZiNGE5ZjI2YzMx/MmI3Yjk1ZTJlZDg0/YzE2OC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}