Repossessions are set to rise by around 7% in 2012 according to a regional repossession forecast produced by HML from an analysis of more than 800,000 mortgage accounts.

The servicing giant suggests that all UK regions will see modest increases, in both the rate and number of repossessions, although Northern Ireland will experience a repossession rate more than four times higher than the South West of England.

Damian Riley, director of Business Intelligence, said: “The increase in property repossessions during 2012 will be the legacy of high levels of mortgage arrears in 2011 (there is still a stock of 27