Second charge lending rebounds by 11% in May: FLA

Second charge mortgage new business volumes grew by 11% in May, with 3,293 new agreements, the latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show.

The value of new loans totalled £160m in the month, up 13% year-on-year.

This follows April's data which found that second charge lending saw its first monthly fall since 2023.

In the three months to May, second charge lending rose 9% by volume and 14% by value.

In the year to May, lending rose 16% by volume and 24% by value compared to the previous 12 months.

Fiona Hoyle, director of consumer & mortgage finance and inclusion at the FLA, said: “The second charge mortgage market returned to growth in May, reporting its second highest total of new business so far this year by both value and volume. In the five months to May 2025, new business volumes were 11% higher than in the same period in 2024.

“The distribution of new business by purpose of loan in May 2025 showed that the proportion of new agreements which were for the consolidation of existing loans was 58.9%; for home improvements and the consolidation of existing loans was 22.4%; and for home improvements only was 11.9%."