Searches for furlough-friendly mortgages through SmartrCriteria grew by 230 per cent between December 2020 and January 2021, says Legal and General Mortgage Club.

This makes it the most searched for criteria across the whole tool, the club says, and follows a strong showing in November 2020.

As well as this, there was a 69 per cent increase in searches recorded within the same time frame, which makes for the highest ever volume of searches.

Searches for residential products comprised just over 76 per cent of total searches, the club adds.

Legal and General Mortgage Club head of mortgage transformation and operations Clare Beardmore says: “Clearly, many people are continuing to press ahead with their homeownership ambitions and in many cases advisers are successfully matching them with the mortgage products they need to step onto and up the property ladder.

“However, while the total volume of activity rose in January, we’re continuing to see strong demand among consumers for furlough-friendly mortgage products.

“While this isn’t altogether surprising given the effects of lockdowns over the past year, it’s yet another sign that thousands more borrowers with complex circumstances will need the support of advisers to help them find suitable mortgage options in the months ahead.”