The total volume of lending reached £71m in October, a £19m rise on September, according to Loans Warehouse.

Moreover, completions rose by 31% month-on-month, to 1,816.

The most popular reason behind taking out a loan was consolidation at 61.51%. This was followed by home improvements at 31.97%.

Looking to the average completion time, this declined by one day, from 12 days in September, to 11 days in October, and the average term was noted at 14 years.

Furthermore, the vast majority of products were provided under 85% LTV at 97.33%.

Matt Tristram, managing director or Loans Warehouse, said: “The message from the secured loan industry this month is very clear, it is business as usual in lockdown two. With no significant changes or restrictions to criteria announced following the PM’s announcement of a second lockdown.

“When coronavirus hit in March lending figures dropped over 80%, but this time round it is very different as October showed the biggest monthly growth of 2020.

“This time there is no restriction on physical valuations, and for over a decade the industry has offered a huge range of products available using Hometrack or similar desktop valuation models.

“The optimism stems from several lenders announcing securitisations in recent weeks.”