The Intermediary – August 2025 - Flipbook - Page 52
SPECIALIST FINANCE
Opinion
Reframing lending
for key workers and
professionals
I
n a mortgage market that
is constantly adjusting to a
variety of economic pressures,
geopolitical influences and
affordability constraints,
there’s an increasing emphasis
on treating residential borrowers
based on their personal circumstances,
rather than trying to fit square pegs
into round holes.
Two borrower groups that clearly
highlight the need for a more tailored
approach are key workers and
professionals. Both are central to
the functioning of our economy and
public services, and on the surface,
many appear to meet mainstream
lending criteria. Yet their income
structures, career paths or credit
histories oen don’t align with
traditional affordability assessments,
leaving them underserved by high
street lenders.
This disconnect hasn’t always been
openly acknowledged, but the rise
of the specialist residential lending
market is starting to change that.
More lenders are now stepping in to
bridge the gap by offering solutions
that reflect the real-world complexity
of today’s borrowers through criteria,
products and policies that go beyond a
rigid tick-box approach.
Key workers such as teachers,
NHS clinicians, emergency service
workers and armed forces, among
many others, represent a large and
critical segment of the UK labour
force. According to the latest Office
for National Statistics (ONS) figures,
employment in the public sector was
estimated at 6.15 million in March
2025, up 7,000 (0.1%) compared with
December 2024, and 35,000 (0.6%)
compared with March 2024.
The data outlined that the NHS
employed an estimated record high
of 2.06 million people in March
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The Intermediary | August 2025
2025, an increase of 9,000 (0.4%)
compared with December 2024,
and an increase of 44,000 (2.2%)
compared with March 2024. But
despite their indispensable roles,
many of those working in the public
sector still face affordability challenges
due to combination of low income
roles, wage stagnation and high
property prices.
Take housing costs – the latest
Halifax House Price Index puts the UK
average at £296,6655 as of June 2025,
an annual change of +2.5%. Even with
some regional soening, this remains
out of reach for many public sector
workers, especially first-time buyers.
Specialist sense
While job stability among key
workers is typically higher than
average, traditional lenders oen fail
to recognise this as a counterbalance to
relatively lower incomes. That’s where
specialist lenders step in.
Our enhanced key worker range, for
instance, now includes products with
up to 5.5-times income multiples for
borrowers in qualifying roles, giving
key workers the ability to live in and
support the communities they serve.
At the other end of the spectrum
are professionals such as accountants,
solicitors, company directors,
consultants, architects and many
others, whose earning potential
and career trajectories are typically
strong, but whose income structures
don’t always reflect this in the eyes of
mainstream lenders.
Increasingly, these professionals
are self-employed, rely on multiple
income streams, or may have credit
events that put them beyond prime
criteria. Despite this, these borrowers
remain among the most creditworthy.
Specialist lenders have updated
their criteria in recent years to reflect
GRANT HENDRY
is director of sales at
Foundation Home Loans
this, offering higher loan-to-incomes
(LTIs) and considering cases with
complex income, offset structures, or
credit blips.
For example, our Professional
mortgage range also includes options
like interest-only borrowing, which
can support short-term cashflow
management for professionals with
high equity but fluctuating monthly
income – a scenario common among
self-employed consultants, partners,
directors or those transitioning
between roles.
For both key workers and
professionals, the key differentiator
in the specialist market is manual
underwriting. Instead of relying
solely on algorithms and fixed credit
models, underwriters are armed with
the ability to assess each case on its
individual merits, considering future
potential, job stability, and both past
and current financial behaviour.
The broker market is uniquely
placed to support in bridging the gap
between borrower complexity and
lender capability.
Brokers who understand the
breadth of specialist lending options
– and who partner with lenders
willing to look beyond the ‘norm’ – are
playing a vital role in supporting these
customer groups that are too oen
overlooked.
In doing so, they are also helping
to drive a more inclusive, flexible and
solutions-focused residential lending
market, a direction which more
accurately reflects the evolving needs
of modern borrowers. ●
