Jo Breeden, Managing Director, Crystal Specialist Finance

Jo Breeden, Managing Director, Crystal Specialist Finance

Huge increase in figures also for completed business and enquiries

Crystal Specialist Finance (CSF) has smashed all company records in 2016, with issued terms up 81%, completed business by 35% and enquiries by 54% against 2015.

From October to December, the business had its most successful quarter ever with issued terms reaching £532.2m, giving an annual total of £1,946m against £1,074m in the corresponding period.

In addition the average completed application value rose by 21% plus the business issued terms with 70 lenders and completed deals with 42, including both high street and challenger banks.

Case highlights include securing a £3.6m bridging loan with Together in just ten working days, a £590k regulated loan with Borro in three days and ‘the perfect bridge’ with LendInvest to ensure continued work on an investment property which was on the verge of stalling.

Jo Breeden, Managing Director of CSF said: “In 2015 I challenged the team to hit £1bn in terms issued, which they duly did, so to end 2016 just short of £2bn is nothing short of exceptional. To compound this achievement with huge increases in completions and the average application value paints a very positive picture.

“When you consider the uncertainty surrounding the finance market in 2016 with the well publicised regulation changes and the EU Referendum result, we have not only defied the odds but done so with the correct levels of personal and IT infrastructure investment to ensure solid foundations moving forward.

“I have no doubt that 2017 will continue to be challenging, but we enter the year having established ourselves as one of the biggest specialist distributors in the UK and we will continue to expand our boundaries based on the excellent service for which we are becoming synonymous.”

CSF operates across five specialist divisions: Bridging, Commercial, Development Funding, Second Charge Loans and Specialist Mortgages. The business is open to applications on all types of properties in England, Scotland and Wales, with the company having access to over 70 lenders, including exclusive product lines.