United Trust Bank has cut bridging rates by up to 14 basis points and has lowered its minimum loan size by 20% to £100,000.  

The specialist lender says its biggest reductions come across the firm’s unregulated bridging products where rates start from 75bps per month for standard and light refurbishment products, and 85bps per month for heavy refurbishment products.   

Its unregulated light and heavy refurbishment bridging products have both been reduced by 14bps as the bank bids to “significantly grow its share of the unregulated bridging market this year”.  

It adds that it has cut regulated standard and light refurbishment bridging loans to 72bps per month, from 75bps per month.  

Also, the firm has reduced its minimum bridging loan amount to £100,000 from £125,000 for first and second charge bridging loans and will now lend against properties across mainland Scotland, excluding the Isles.  

The business says these changes follow the specialist lender’s move to increase its maximum loan to value for first charge standard bridging loans from 70% to 75% last month, and its creation of two separate and appropriately skilled underwriting teams to manage regulated and unregulated bridging proposals last year.  

United Trust Bank director of bridging Sundeep Patel says: “There are positive signs that 2024 is going to be a busy year in bridging and we want to support brokers and their customers with competitive rates and bridging loans with higher LTVs.  

“The base rate, swap rates and the property market all appear to be stabilising and this is increasing confidence for lenders and borrowers.”