Drawdown schemes now make up 65% of NBSERS’ business. NBSERS has also witnessed a significant reduction in the time taken from customer enquiry to taking out an equity release policy, with lead times reduced by 35%, from 140 days in Q3 2007 to 91 days in Q3 2008.

Bob Mottershead, retail sales executive at Newcastle said: “In the current economic climate, lead times have reduced from clients enquiring about equity release products to taking out a plan. This could be due to the fact that customers are more informed about equity release and are aware of the benefits of taking advantage of the amount of equity in their property to free up some much-needed cash.

“Customers also appear to be moving away from the more traditional reasons for taking out equity release plans including home improvements and holidays, by looking to equity release as a means of supplementing their income.”