The number of cases Bluestone Mortgages received from individual female applicants between October 2020 and March 2021 increased by 38% year-on-year due to the financial impact of the Covid-19 crisis.

Applications from joint female borrowers followed a similar trend, increasing by 37% at Bluestone over the same period.

Bluestone said its data indicate there is a growing number of women experiencing financial complications due to the pandemic, either due to impaired credit or problems with employment, which could be excluding them from the mainstream mortgage market.

The coronavirus crisis has disproportionately impacted women’s financial security, with female-dominated industries such as hospitality and tourism amongst those hardest hit by the pandemic. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that women are more likely than men to have been furloughed during the pandemic, while unemployment among this cohort rose by 174,000 between March and December 2020.

The specialist lender believes these factors are likely to have left thousands – if not millions – of women in a more financially vulnerable position than they were before the crisis began, which could have subsequently impacted their eligibility for mainstream lending. Bluestone expects this trend to continue over the long-term, as a greater number of women find themselves in a more precarious financial position, and demand for tailored lending rises among this cohort in the wake of the crisis.

Steve Seal, managing director at Bluestone Mortgages, said: “The impact of the coronavirus crisis was felt particularly by women, with this group more likely to have faced furlough, unemployment and financial hardship over the last year. These factors have the potential to significantly impact an individual’s credit score which could, in turn, mean that they are unable to access mainstream lending. Today’s figures highlight this fact, and we foresee this reality lasting for some time as women navigate the fallout of the crisis and look at alternative ways of securing financing.

“This signals a major opportunity for the complex credit lending market to evolve and develop, and lenders and advisers in this industry must work together to capitalise on the growth in demand that is expected from female borrowers over the coming years. Ultimately, lenders and advisers serving the complex credit lending market will need to support a growing cohort of underserved borrowers over the long-term, so now is the time to prepare accordingly.”