Nationwide Building Society has told PIN that it is not currently lending to new customers for new commercial property.

Enda Joyce, spokesman for commercial business at Nationwide, said: “Nationwide is currently taking a more cautious approach to the market, our primary focus are our existing customers. This is our position in the short-term, but we intend to review this on a regular basis and react to current market conditions.” Nationwide is one of the top five commercial property lenders in the country and currently claim to have over £20bn of loans on its books.

In May, De Monfort University found that willingness to offer commercial loans was at a 10-year low as a third of respondents to its survey said that they were less willing to do this. Joyce believes that the number is now lower than this as most lenders are tightening their lending criteria or putting new lending on hold altogether. Joyce added “There is currently not much lending from any other banks at the moment.”