Moreover, the research found that in total, 6.81 million people, equating to 13% of respondents, have experienced credit problems, including missed payments, CCJs, defaults, unsecured arrears and secured arrears, in the last three years.

The number of would-be buyers with adverse credit has declined by 250,000 since Pepper Money conducted its Adverse Credit Study in February.

Furthermore, the data shows that 69% of the 1.09 million potential buyers with adverse credit, are concerned that their mortgage application will be declined.

Paul Adams, sales director at Pepper Money, said: “We last carried out this study earlier in the year, ahead of the first national lockdown to combat COVID-19, so it is really encouraging that the number of people with adverse credit has actually fallen since then.

“This could be connected to the fact that many people spent less money during lockdown and so more people than before took the opportunity to try to repay their debts.

“Specialist lenders, like Pepper Money, are able to provide competitive options for customers with these circumstances, even if they have recent missed payments as a result of COVID-19, so it is important that brokers engage with the specialist market and communicate the opportunities with their customers.”