Second charge mortgage lender Equifinance says the profile for customers taking out a second charge mortgage has changed significantly against the backdrop of county court judgments (CCJs) in 2016 being at record levels.

The Registry Trust reports there were 912,389 CCJs against consumers in England and Wales during 2016, more than any year on record. Despite the average value of a consumer CCJ falling to £1,711, the volume of CCJs has shaped Equifinance’s customer profile.

When the lender looks back at the profile of customers from 2013 it found it was very rare to get a professional applicant taking a second charge for debt consolidation; however, it is now seeing a wider spread of the geodemographic profile to include more aspirational professionals in good employment. They’re also taking out larger loans, with the average Equifinance loan also increasing over the last year.

The other growing sector for Equifinance is those customers who have had good jobs but were unfortunately made redundant and went self-employed for a few years. Many of these are now back in full time employment and looking to re-establish their credit profile. As they have maintained mortgage payments and have moved back into full time employment, they are good customers with the ability to pay for their loans in the long term.

Tony Marshall (pictured), managing director of Equifinance, said: “Although the number of CCJs registered against consumers in the second half of 2016 rose by nearly 20%, we haven’t seen a discernible Brexit effect. As second charges have been presented as a real option with significant benefits for many customers, we are seeing this reflected in a changing customer profile.

“And it’s not just MCD and continued debt recovery customers that has brought this on. Factors including our increasing distribution model and product innovation have also helped to promote our products. Homeowners have also seen the equity in their property increase in recent years and it’s certainly attracting a new profile of client who can use the loans to better managing debt.”