Demand for finance in the UK regions has outstripped London for the first time in recent years, according to Laxfield Capital.
The real estate debt investment manager’s UK CRE Debt Barometer found increased need for finance from borrowers beyond the UK capital over the last six months.
Emma Huepfl, co-principal at Laxfield Capital, said: “The past six months has seen finance requests follow strong investment activity in the regions, clearly demonstrating belief that the next phase of economic growth is established beyond London.
“This is reinforced by the fact that much of the demand relates to new investment and the sudden step-up seen in development finance requirements.”
Acquisition-related financing has increased significantly, with more than 60% of loan requests being for new investment, according to the Property Finance Forum-sponsored report.
The report, which draws on a sample of 904 loan requests totalling more than £75bn, found less demand for high-leverage finance in excess of 70%.
Almost half of loan requests were at 65% LTV or more.
Sufficient demand was seen for small ticket (sub £5m) and development funding requests to add a supplemental report for these areas.
Laxfield said the findings showed how active all parts of the real estate spectrum were.
Demand for finance on alternatives remains strong, although it is down slightly from record highs in the company’s previous report.
