Last year, the expert lending department once again proved a lifeline for borrowers as many people found themselves in an increasingly complicated financial situation.
As households continued to feel a crisis from the cost of living and high interest rate environment, specialized lenders were on hand to provide solutions to those who didn't fit the “vanilla” style of mainstream lenders. 
In the wider mortgage market, many lenders have strengthened their technology offerings, but in some corners there was a growing demand for a more manual, practical, tailored approach. This is an area where specialist lenders often excel.
Again, 17 lenders were evaluated in the Mortgage Finance Gazette ratings in the Service Specialist category. Four lenders achieved the prestigious highest rating of service status, with four more being recognized as service ratings.
The rankings showed some degree of movement compared to last year. Mortgage lenders and pepper money have been promoted from those rated for services to the highest rating, showing how brokers have valued their efforts over the past 12 months.
Metro Bank gained first recognition in the expert category and received Service Accolade ratings on its debut.
As in the past few years, the majority of service lenders' top ratings and ratings were heavily weighted to intermediary-only brands, reflecting the importance of the broker community to ensure that borrowers with non-standard needs are well supported.
However, compared to previous findings, there was less overlap between mainstream and professional acclaim, with most top-rated lenders firmly rooted in the specialty space.
Nevertheless, three of the four lenders who received a specialist service distinction rating also achieved status ratings in the mainstream category.
Strategic Focus scored the highest standalone score among professional lenders, but sales support and communication were the weakest links in the sector.
Check out our professional lender dashboard below.
All data from the Mortgage Finance Gazette, which was assessed for Service 2025, is accessed via the dashboard. All rating data for each lender category, as well as all ranking data for each valuation area, are available from the past three years. Lender performance in any of the five valuation areas was ranked from highest to lowest across the lender panel each year, allowing filtering based on broker type and case load.
This year, we also added factor analysis for each lender category. Therefore, brokers can benchmark selected lender panels for the average scores for each valuation area (up to five lenders).
The dashboard brings an unprecedented level of clarity to the lender service level of the broker community. Listen to feedback in the comments section below or email piers.johnson@emap.com.
Click here to view the full dashboard
Click on the cover below to see Mortage Finance Gazette's printing supplements rated in the Service 2025 rating.
