Once upon a time, a typical homebuyer took out a ‘vanilla’ mortgage directly from their local building society. They had 2.4 children, moved house a couple of times, paid their loan off after 25 years and retired on a final salary pension from their lifetime employer.
The picture today is far more complex, varied and interesting, and people’s borrowing needs have altered drastically as a result. First-time buyers are getting older and borrowing for longer. Families are becoming more diverse and career paths are also shifting - on average, individuals switch jobs every five years. Self-employment grew from 3.3m in 2011 to 4.43m in 2025 representing almost 15% of the workforce, and more people may well head down this route given technological advances, the rise of the gig economy and our increasing focus on work-life balance post-pandemic. Meanwhile, two in five of us have a ‘side hustle’, generating at least one extra source of income.
Retirement is no longer a fixed milestone, as more people ease into it gradually, supplementing their pensions with additional income. Around 7% of the adult population are landlords, requiring different types of buy-to-let mortgages and bridging finance. The list goes on...
As a result, the traditional mortgage offerings of the past can no longer accommodate the increasingly varied and dynamic financial profiles of today’s borrowers. Over the past decade or so many lenders, including smaller building societies, have developed innovative specialist solutions to meet the evolving needs of our increasingly complex society. And the specialist market is only set to grow further.
Some estimates point to a rise of up to 70% in specialist lending over the next two years. The data is hard to pin down, not least because the term ‘specialist’ covers such a wide range of sub-sectors. But we do know, for example, that the Bridging & Development Lenders Association (BDLA)'s loan book hit an all-time high of £9 billion in Q2 last year and has remained stable in every quarter since, while the value of new second charge lending totalled £168m in March, a 23% increase compared to the same month in 2024, according to the Finance and Leasing Association.
Given the diversity of borrower needs and lender solutions, it’s no surprise that the demand for professional mortgage advice has grown steadily in recent years. IMLA’s New Normal Report predicts that brokers’ share of lending will keep rising to 89% this year and over 90% in 2026. And whether by luck or design, more and more advisers will be looking to place specialist mortgage business in future.
The upside of specialist lending is that it can cater for a broad range of borrower needs, individually underwritten by experienced human beings who understand complex human circumstances. The challenge for brokers, especially newcomers to the complex case market is that specialist criteria can vary enormously from lender to lender, cases can be more difficult to navigate through the system and can take up more of an adviser’s time than arranging a standard home loan.
A borrower with specialist financial requirements needs an understanding, informed and empathetic adviser willing to take on their case and secure a positive result. As a broker with a specialist customer, you need just the same qualities in a lender.
Building societies have been offering empathy and understanding along with mortgages for 250 years. For more than a decade, Market Harborough Building Society has extended the same principles to the broker community, with a particular focus on specialist cases. Whether your client needs bridging finance, has non-standard income, is an expat, or a host of other complex circumstances, you want a swift yes or no decision, personalised underwriting and dedicated support from start to finish.
As the name suggests, our Daily Credit Committee meets every day of the week to consider the cases at hand and provide brokers and their clients with a quick and firm answer. We always look to say yes to cases and have a reputation for solving complex cases. Chairing the meeting is just one way I keep close to the changing needs of brokers and their clients.
Like others in the mutual sector, we are hardwired to go above and beyond for our members, and the brokers who introduce them to us. We’re keen to provide the support and solutions brokers really need. That is why we set up our Lending Advisory Panel, featuring industry experts which regularly asks brokers what we can do differently, and will build on initiatives such as our minimum 24-hour product withdrawal notice guarantee.
As mortgage borrowing, and the world itself, becomes ever more complex, the importance of lender/broker relationships is likely to deepen, while the traditional mutual values of support and service will become even more vital in delivering the flexible, human-centred solutions today’s borrowers need - and tomorrow’s will come to expect.
