Commercial brokers remain positive about post-Brexit business prospects

With a resilient outlook, almost seven in ten (67%) stated that they feel confident about the lending environment in 2020 and 57% feel confident about business growth in 2020.

25% of respondents have seen no change in business volumes in 2019, despite ongoing political uncertainty. Even more positively, 25% have cited a healthy 10%+ increase in business volumes in 2019, compared with 2018. In addition, 22% have cited a 20%+ rise, up from from the 18% who reported the same increase in business volumes in 2018.

The top three challenges that the commercial mortgage brokers surveyed expect their businesses to face in 2020 are the impact of Brexit (58%), valuation issues (53%) and lending restrictions (36%).

More than one in five (62%) of brokers have seen investors diversifying into the commercial property market.

Emma Cox, ‎sales director for commercial mortgages, commented: “Despite the broker community showing some concern around the impact of Brexit as the deadline draws near, their confidence in business and the commercial property market for 2020 is still high.

“As stated in our UK Commercial Property Market Report, there is still opportunity for experienced investors to grow and diversify their portfolios, providing they do their homework and seek appropriate advice. The barometer results have further highlighted this trend with a number of commercial mortgage brokers citing a large increase in the number of investors diversifying into the market. Clearly the impact of Brexit is unpredictable outside of the standard uncertainty commentary, but there is still opportunity to grow, as the barometer results show, with many brokers reporting an increase in business volumes. However, it’s important to remember that not every commercial property investment will automatically generate great returns, and that doing your homework on potential investments is hugely important.

“As we have always stated, longevity and sustainability of market are key, and investors who work with experts across the lender and broker spectrum will be best placed to take advantage of future value that presents itself.”