There was a 29% rise in second charge new business agreements in July on an annual basis, reports the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA).

The value of these new agreements came to £45m.

In total, there were 3,127 new agreements, collectively worth £146m, which is a 45% rise in value on the year.

In the 12 months to July, the FLA reports, there were a total number of 31,543 agreements made, at a value of £1.4bn, a 45% and 55% move upwards, in these respective metrics.

FLA director of consumer and mortgage finance and inclusion Fiona Hoyle says: “In July, the second charge mortgage market reported its highest monthly new total for new business volumes since September 2008.

“Of the total new agreements written in July, 54% were for the consolidation of existing loans, 15% for home improvements, and a further 26% were for both loan consolidation and home improvements.”