The amount of new money lent in the UK’s commercial property sector was up 27 per cent in volume in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2017.

This is the finding of the latest Cass Business School UK Commercial Real Estate Lending Report, which revealed that, from January to June, origination hit £22.5 billion. Of this money, 61 per cent was lent for property transactions in London and the south east.

Director of finance policy at the British Property Federation Ian Fletcher commented: “The UK’s commercial property lending market seems to be in fairly good shape, despite ongoing political uncertainty.”

However, he added that the Cass Business School findings reveal “the relatively higher levels of defaults on development loans versus investment loans”.

But Mr Fletcher stressed that development is “fundamental to the success of our towns and cities”, noting that although this kind of finance is “inherently riskier” it’s essential that property firms are still able to access it.

Working with property development solicitors is just one step to take to help increase the chances of your project being a success.

But there are signs that some are turning away from traditional forms of finance in order to fund commercial property development projects. One such example can be found in Altrincham, where The House Crowd is using crowdfunding to finance its project.

Property Investor Today reported that the development is worth a total of £15 million and noted that the founder of the company has described it as “the largest project of its kind ever attempted in the UK”.