According to the latest MT Finance Bridging Trends Report, the time required to complete a typical bridging loan fell from 48 days in the second quarter to 41 days in the third quarter of 2025.
The specialist financial packager, which contributed to the report, closed £209.4m of bridging loans in the latest quarter, up 4.9% from £199.7m in the second quarter.
This is the highest quarterly figure since £220.8m in the third quarter of 2024, reversing a downward trend in quarterly totals since the same period last year.
Financing investment purchases accounted for 20% of all transactions, up from 16% in the second quarter. MT Finance said uncertainty over the upcoming autumn budget, as well as speculation that stamp duty could increase, could impact landlords looking for fast, flexible financing options.
Re-bridges saw the largest growth in the third quarter – jumping from 7% in the second quarter to 12%.
MT Finance said this could be due to a slowdown in the property market, with borrowers using resale exit strategies finding it harder to redeem bridging loans.
Bridge loans used to refinance properties saw the largest decline, with regulated refinances falling by a third, from 18% in the second quarter to 12% in the third quarter.
Unregulated refinances almost halved, falling from 11% in the second quarter to 6% in the third quarter.
The report is compiled based on loan data from AFIG, Brightstar, Enness, Impact Specialist Finance and Sirus Finance.
William Lloyd-Hayward, group chief operating officer and managing director of Sirius Finance, said: “The significant increase in re-bridges – from 7% to 12% – demonstrates how borrowers are turning to short-term funding to maintain liquidity in a slowing sales environment.
“At the same time, transaction growth to fund investment purchases rose from 16% to 20%, indicating that investors are finding value in the current market and using bridging as a means to quickly seize opportunities. This clearly demonstrates the dual role of bridging – supporting both those who need breathing space and those who are ready to take decisive action.”
