The volume of second charge new business grew by 176% in the year to April, according to the latest figures from the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA).

The total number of new agreements in April was 1,890, worth £81m, equating to a 154% in value compared to April 2020.

For the three months to April, 5,547 second charge new agreements were arranged, worth £236m.

However, for the full year to April 2020 16,620 new second charge loans were completed, worth a total of £684m, down 38% and 43% respectively.

FLA director of consumer and mortgage finance and inclusion Fiona Hoyle says: “The second charge mortgage market returned to growth in April in line with expectations given the adverse impact of the first lockdown on new business levels in the second quarter of 2020.

“The market is expected to record a strong recovery in new business levels during the second half of 2021.”

In March, the FLA recorded second charge new business as down 5% on the same month in 2020.