Specialist market a golden opportunity for advisers, says Complete FS

Complete FS says it has seen enquiries and applications for specialist lending soar over the past two quarters with new business applications 40% ahead of the same period in 2016, with particularly strong enquiry levels for bridging loans and specialist first charge mortgages.

Tony continued: “Mainstream lenders are finding the going tougher as they have been able to be particularly choosy about the business they will accept because of high demand. However, there is so much more competition for that low hanging fruit on which they have been relying. I think we are seeing that they will have to look at their credit profile driven underwriting, if those volumes are not going to deteriorate further. But this is good news for those advisers who can see the value in the specialist lending market.

“Headlines about business volumes falling, focus in the main on the mainstream market. However, the demand for borrowing facilities has not suffered. In fact, there is growing demand for first and second charge mortgages, bridging, commercial and buy-to-let.

"The only difference is that the clients either do not fit the rigid profile on the high street or they are not getting a swift enough service from mainstream providers.

"Rather than worry about the headlines, remember this is actually a golden time for advisers who are prepared to look beyond the high street."