Equity release advisory firm Age Partnership has reported that the volume of enquiries it received in January was at an 18-month high.

The Leeds based broker added that last month also outperforming January 2021 for completions across both new and returning equity release customers.

Darren Dicks (pictured), executive director of partnerships at Age Partnership, said: “2022 has got off to a flying start with record numbers of enquiry volumes across all of our equity release divisions.

“We put the performance down to the increasing levels of confidence in equity release as a retirement finance solution, the rising cost of living, in addition to the raised awareness of equity release due to the amount of media coverage and exposure from TV advertising.

“We’re confident that the industry will go from strength to strength this year, driven by market conditions, continuing plan developments and the announcement of new safeguards, such as the guaranteed right to make partial repayments on new lifetime mortgages.

“Our partnerships division is another area of the business that has enjoyed a strong start to the year. Independent financial adviser and mortgage broker partners are set to gain from the positivity that we’re experiencing, as we have increased our standard referral commission from 1.7% to 2% – an 18% percentage increase, a move that we hope will further add to the growth in the equity release market.”