PMS Mortgage Club and Sesame Network have reported that combined mortgage completions increased by 20% to £9.6 billion in the first three months of 2018.

This represents a £1.6 billion rise on the same period last year (2017 Q1: £8 billion).

Mark Graves, managing director, Sesame and PMS, said: “The role and importance of mortgage advice goes from strength to strength. Following our Group’s impressive full-year mortgage performance in 2017, a rise of 20% in the first quarter of 2018 is very encouraging. PMS and Sesame members wrote around 10,000 additional mortgage cases, compared to the same period last year, which is testament to the valuable service they are delivering to their customers.

“With the arrival of new business models such as robo-advice, it is really heartening to see the increasing demand for advice from professionals. The big winners are UK consumers, with more people benefiting from quality professional advice which is tailored to their needs.

“Remortgages and product transfers are driving the majority of our growth, which is something we expect to see continue into the second quarter and ahead of any potential interest rate rises in 2018.”