Of the 50 property developers surveyed, 12% anticipate a dramatic rise in the level of funding obtained from specialist lenders by 2025.

According to the research, this is due to developers expecting traditional banks to restrict lending over concerns related to price correction and general economic volatility.

Specialist lenders’ ability to offer more flexible terms was also quoted by developers as a secondary reason for seeking more funding from these firms.

Currently, around 24% of developers said more than half of their funding comes from specialist lenders.

A further 36% said specialist loans comprise between 25% and 50% of their total funding.

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Meanwhile, 40% said they source just 25% from specialist lenders.

Parik Chandra, partner and head of specialist lending at Downing LLP (pictured above), said: “Our research suggests that specialist lenders will take a growing share of the residential property funding market.

“To date, we have committed over £300m to medium-sized residential property developers, with around £140m achieved in the last financial year.

“However, regardless of where they source their funding from, in the current market, developers need to do more work in preparing comprehensive plans and budgets that they can share with prospective lenders.”