Over a third of mortgage brokers (34%) claimed to have referred more than a quarter of their client base to a specialist lender in the past 12 months, research from Bluestone Mortgages revealed.

Of those that referred their clients, just under 25% referred between 26% and 50% of their clients, and 10% referred over half to a specialist lender. According to the data, nearly half of brokers (47%) referred between 11% and 25% of their customers.

Bluestone Mortgages found that, when questioned about customer profiles, half of brokers stated that the typical employment status a specialist client was self-employed. A broker’s specialist client base was split relatively evenly between first-time buyers (55%), remortgagers (53%) and homeowners (46%). However, just 23% were last time buyers.

The lender highlighted that one of the primary reasons brokers referred their clients to a specialist lender is because they fell outside of mainstream lending criteria, with over half (53%) citing this as the main reason. Other reasons included irregular and multiple income streams (43% and 42% respectively) and clients with impaired credit history (42%).

Commenting on the data, Bluestone Mortgages director of sales and marketing Steve Seal: “It’s positive to see that brokers are referring a fair proportion of their client base to specialist lenders. Whether borrowers are employed, self-employed, contractors or freelancers, the specialist lending market is able to cater for all, as well as dealing with more complex applications.

“Whilst brokers are taking action to help those who may otherwise be unable to secure high-street lending, there are still some who remain cautious of specialist lending, as they don’t want to deal with complex customers or unfamiliar lenders.

“However, this is actually a great opportunity for brokers to engage with a growing pool of customers who have unique circumstances which can’t always be addressed by mainstream lending. It is vital that the market continues working together to secure the best customer outcomes, and specialist lending has a key role to play here.”

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