Second charge mortgage performed poorly in March, falling by 10% year-on-year with £86m of lending.

There was £1,023m of second charge lending in the 12 months leading up to March, an increase of 15% from that of the previous year.

Figures from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) also found there was £244m second charge mortgages in the three months leading up to March, with no percentage change year-on-year.

Tim Wheeldon, chief operating officer at Fluent for Advisers, said: “I don’t think some of the headlines I have read so far, highlighting the monthly fall in volumes, is the real story here.

“One month’s figures are not representative of a trend and while the month-on-month comparison shows a drop, the first quarter shows that the sector is ahead of last year’s figures.

“Our own experience at Fluent is that over the same period, we are registering record months with increasing volumes from our intermediary business.”