Scott Marshall, Lending Director at Roma Finance, comments: “This makes perfect sense in the current market, as property prices remain relatively low, particularly at auctions, and there is a growing awareness by brokers and their borrowers of bridging finance as a vehicle to build a property portfolio.”

The specialist lending sector, has more than risen to the challenge of catering for the surge in self-employed borrowers, with a number of key benefits for acquiring or renovating property quickly using a bridging loan – such as criteria for change of use, lending with or without planning permission, a willingness to lend even if there is a blip on a borrower’s credit record and not requiring years of historical accounts for new start-ups.

Scott continues: “At Roma Finance we have seen this growth in the self-employed property professional at first hand. It’s good to see people capitalising on building a better future for themselves and their families. And with the pension pot being available from April 2015, this could further drive a rise in self-employed landlords as people make buy to let a component in their retirement planning.”