42% of mortgage intermediaries questioned by Kensington said the ability to prove adequate trading history is the biggest barrier to the self-employed in obtaining a mortgage.

23% believed complex income structure is the main hurdle for their self-employed clients and 15% claimed self-employed circumstances do not fit standard credit scoring systems.

12% said that perception is a barrier for their self-employed clients, who do not think they will be able to get a mortgage and so do not even try.

Charles Morley, head of sales at Kensington, said: “It comes as no surprise that the main hurdles for the self-employed