Second charge lending is now “a mainstream lending route”, according to Loans Warehouse, after figures showed that total lending in the market recently surpassed the £2bn mark annually.

Loans Warehouse described the milestone as a “landmark moment” for the second charge market but added that the number of completion volumes behind the figure suggest that second charge is no longer a niche product.

Figures released earlier this month by the Finance & Leasing Association showed that the second charge sector reached £2.05bn in lending over the 12 months to November 2025, the first time the market has passed £2bn in a year since 2005.

Last November alone, the market delivered 3,934 second charge agreements, and across the three months to November, second charge lending totalled 11,958 new loans. Loans Warehouse said this puts the second charge sector at a “comparable and potentially higher level” than the bridging sector, in unit completion terms.

“Second charge is still often described as specialist lending, but the scale of completions now places it firmly alongside other broker-led finance markets, particularly bridging, when measured by the number of completed deals,” commented Loans Warehouse co-founder and director, Matt Tristram.

“When the market is completing nearly 4,000 loans in a single month, that’s not a niche product anymore, that’s scale.”

Tristram added that while the specialist finance conversation has long been focusing heavily on the monetary value of markets, “consumers don’t think in those terms”.

“From their point of view, a completed deal is a completed deal,” Tristram said. “When you compare the likely number of bridging completions against second charge loan counts, it’s clear second charge is now firmly in that same bracket. In pure unit terms, it may even be bigger.

“Loans Warehouse has long believed second charge should be viewed as a core part of modern advice. Whether the goal is home improvements, debt consolidation, or raising capital while preserving a competitive first-charge rate, this market is now delivering outcomes at a wider level.”

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