Members of HL Partnership (HLP) and Mortgage Support Network (MSN) saw a 19.7% uplift in mortgage lending in the first quarter of 2019 when compared to the equivalent period last year.

These results come on the back of a 21.9% increase to almost £6bn for the two networks in 2018.

Purchase lending increased by 4%, while remortgage activity was up by 9%. Product transfer business increased by 35% on Q1 2018, and now represents one in five cases completed this year.

Buy-to-let purchase activity is still growing – new buy-to-let lending is up by 6%, while the remortgage market for landlords is up by 19%.

Shaun Almond (pictured), managing director of HLP, said: “These numbers reflect the hard work being done by our members to meet their customers’ borrowing objectives in what is currently an uncertain market place.

“As a network, we are always looking for ways to support brokers and by constantly developing our technology platform, we ensure we stay in touch with customers in a market moving ever closer towards a digital revolution.

“This strong set of numbers demonstrates that our members have the tools in place to grow their businesses by staying in touch with customers. By having the right choice of lenders, they can meet most borrower needs, whether their customer is a homeowner, landlord or those looking to release equity from their property in later life.”