Second charge new loans jumped 37% to £149m from a year ago in September, posting a double-digit rise for the third month in a row, data from the Finance & Leasing Association shows.

New second charge mortgage agreements came in at 3,105 in the month, up 27% from a year ago, as the sector benefitted from lower interest rates.

Over the three months to September, new business loans came in at £464m, up 31% from a year ago, while 9,618 agreements were signed in the period, a 23% jump.

In the year to September, new business loans hit £1.6bn, up 14% from 12 months ago, while 34,059 agreements were signed, 10% higher.

Finance & Leasing Association director of consumer & mortgage finance and inclusion Fiona Hoyle says: “The second charge mortgage market reported a third consecutive month of double-digit new business growth by both value and volume in September boosted by the lower interest rate environment.

“In the nine months to September 2024, new business volumes were 16% higher than in the same period in 2023.

Hoyle adds: “The distribution of new business by purpose of loan in September showed that the proportion of new agreements which were for the consolidation of existing loans was 58.1%; for home improvements and the consolidation of existing loans it was 23.3%; and for home improvements, it was only 12.1%.”