The rise of specialist mortgage services for Britain’s growing self-employed workforce represents a significant shift in the UK’s lending landscape. Limitless Finance, a London-based mortgage broker, recently announced a fee-free mortgage service specifically designed for contractors and self-employed professionals—a timely development as we approach 2025 against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and tightening lending criteria.
The service aims to address a persistent challenge in Britain’s housing market: the difficulty contractors face when seeking home financing. Traditional lenders typically prefer the predictable income patterns of salaried employees, often viewing contractors with skepticism despite their potentially higher earnings.
“The mortgage market has long underserved the self-employed sector,” explains James Lawson, chief economist at Capital Economics. “There’s a structural misalignment between how modern professionals earn and how traditional lenders assess affordability.” This gap has created what the Office for National Statistics estimates to be a 15% lower mortgage approval rate for self-employed applicants compared to their PAYE counterparts.
Limitless Finance’s offering enters a market where an estimated 4.3 million self-employed workers in the UK often pay premium rates or additional broker fees when seeking mortgages. The Bank of England’s latest credit conditions survey indicates lending criteria tightened throughout 2023 and early 2024, with further constraints anticipated as economic pressures persist.
What makes this service particularly noteworthy is its fee-free structure. Most specialist mortgage brokers charge between £495 and £1,500 for contractor mortgage arrangements, according to data from the Financial Conduct Authority’s 2023 mortgage market study. These fees typically cover the additional paperwork and specialist underwriting required for non-standard income verification.
The company claims to provide access to over 90 lenders, including those offering contractor-specific mortgage products that assess affordability based on contract rates rather than company accounts or tax returns. This represents a significant advantage for professionals who minimize taxable income through legitimate business expenses.
David Walker, mortgage policy specialist at UK Finance, notes that “contractor mortgages work differently from traditional lending by considering day rates and contract terms rather than focusing purely on historical earnings.” This approach can often unlock higher borrowing potential for contractors who may show modest profits on paper despite substantial earnings.
The timing appears strategic. The latest figures from the Resolution Foundation show the proportion of self-employed workers in the UK labor market reached 15.3% in 2023, continuing a trend that accelerated during the pandemic. The research also highlighted that self-employed professionals now contribute approximately £305 billion annually to the UK economy.
Market analysts suggest the move by Limitless Finance reflects broader competitive pressures in the mortgage broker space. “We’re seeing a shift toward fee-free models as digital platforms reduce operational costs and increase transparency,” says Emma Thompson, financial services analyst at Deloitte. “The traditional broker fee structure is becoming increasingly difficult to justify to sophisticated consumers.”
The announcement comes amid forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility suggesting modest house price growth of 2.9% in 2025, following a period of stagnation in many UK regions. With interest rates expected to stabilize, industry experts anticipate increased mortgage activity, particularly among previously underserved segments like contractors.
However, potential borrowers should remain cautious. The Financial Conduct Authority’s latest consumer duty regulations require greater transparency, but the absence of broker fees doesn’t necessarily guarantee the most competitive overall deal. Interest rates, product fees, and lending criteria still vary substantially between providers.
“No-fee doesn’t always mean best value,” cautions Sarah Mitchell, personal finance expert at Which? consumer association. “Contractors should still compare the total cost of borrowing across the lifetime of any mortgage product, not just the absence of arrangement fees.”
The service will likely appeal most to IT contractors, management consultants, and project managers—professions where contract-based work is common and day rates typically range from £350 to £800, according to data from the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE).
For the estimated 71,000 contractors actively seeking mortgages in the UK each year, according to UK Finance data, services like this may represent a significant opportunity. The traditional barriers of excessive documentation, specialist broker fees, and limited product options appear to be gradually eroding as the lending market adapts to modern working patterns.
Whether this represents the beginning of a broader shift in financial services for Britain’s self-employed remains to be seen. What’s clear is that as the UK approaches 2025, the financial landscape for contractors continues to evolve, with specialist services increasingly recognizing the legitimate needs of this growing workforce segment.
