Omni Capital lent £100 million during the first six months of 2012.
The specialist short-term lender, which is owned by CPC Group, reported that individual loans varied in value from £30,000 to over £8 million. ‘Median loan-to-value ratios’ were within sector norms, it said.
Over the period, customers included small and medium enterprises (SMEs), private individuals and property professionals looking to complete or expand development projects.
Loans were granted for a wide range of purposes: from buyers looking to take advantage of one-off investment opportunities, to large-scale property refurbishment and development programmes.
“We made a strong start to the year lending £35 million in the first quarter,” said Colin Sanders (pictured), Omni Capital’s CEO.
“The momentum has continued, and the second quarter has been even better pushing our half-year numbers to £100million in total loans granted by value.
“These are hard lending statistics – not PR chaff about numbers of applications received or decisions to lend ‘in principle’ – and confirm that the demand for competitively-priced and flexible bridging products remains high.”
Sanders added: “It will have escaped no one’s notice that individuals and businesses alike are struggling to get access to credit. Working closely with specialist brokers, we’re particularly aware of high demand for liquidity-injecting, short-term products from frustrated property developers.
“Too many of these highly-experienced professionals now find themselves caught in limbo as banks withdraw or refuse to extend their funding. With this situation set to continue, Omni Capital is perfectly positioned to fill the gap by lending where the banks will not.”