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Second-charge lending rises 4% to £183m in August as deal numbers dip

Fewer but larger loans: the average deal grew while agreements dropped on the year for only the second time in 2026.

By Lending Intelligence1 min read
The newsAgreements fell 3% on the year to 3,347 in August 2026, while the value of new business rose 4% (FLA).
Why it mattersGrowth is easing on every FLA measure, and the trade body ties the outlook to household confidence.
What's nextOn the FLA's timing, September's figures should follow in late November.

The month

Lenders advanced £183m of new second-charge business in August 2026 across 3,347 agreements, according to the Finance & Leasing Association. Value was up 4% on August 2025; the number of agreements was down 3%.1

Both measures fell from July, when lenders advanced £205.0m across 3,919 agreements. The average loan rose to about £54,700 from about £52,300 in July, by our calculation from the FLA's totals.1,2

The trend

In the three months to August, new business totalled £595m, up 7% on a year earlier, across 11,113 agreements, up 3%. Over 12 months the totals were £2,394m, up 24%, and 44,709 agreements, up 16%.1

Growth is slowing. The three-month rise in value eased from 9% in the period to July to 7%, and the 12-month rise from 25% to 24%.2,1

August was only the second month this year in which agreements fell on the year, the FLA said. Over the first eight months of 2026, the number of new second-charge mortgages rose 11%.1

What the FLA said

Fiona Hoyle, the FLA's director of consumer finance & mortgages and inclusion, said the market "continues to perform well by historical standards". She added that activity "is likely to reflect wider pressures on household confidence".1

The Secured Loan Index treats the latest month as provisional: the FLA can revise a month's figures when it publishes the next release.3

What's next

The August figures came out on 27 October 2026, five weeks after July's. On that timing we expect September's in late November. Before then, the Monetary Policy Committee announces its Bank Rate decision on 5 November.1,4

Sources

  1. 1Finance & Leasing Association, “Second charge mortgage new business volumes fell by 3% in August 2026 (27 October 2026)”August 2026 value and number of new agreements, the three-month, 12-month and year-to-date changes, and Fiona Hoyle's comments.
  2. 2Finance & Leasing Association, “Second charge mortgage new business volumes grew by 1% in July 2026 (23 September 2026)”July 2026 value and number of new agreements, the three-month and 12-month totals and changes, and Fiona Hoyle's comments.
  3. 3Secured Loan Index, “The Secured Loan Index: methodology”The monthly FLA series behind derived figures (average loan, year to date), and the Index's practice of treating the latest month as provisional.
  4. 4Bank of England, “Monetary Policy Committee dates for 2026”The MPC's 5 November 2026 Bank Rate announcement.

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