Study shows Brits’ soaring appetite to borrow

The price comparison site analysed three million loan enquiries made between January 2015 and March 2017 to reveal how much Brits wanted to borrow and what they planned to spend it on.

Researchers found that in 2016, Brits wanted to borrow a total of £12.4bn through personal loans - an average of £8,765 per person.

Moneysupermarket.com said the typical person enquiring about a loan wanted to borrow the equivalent of 36 percent of their annual income. The site also found one in four people would like to borrow the equivalent of at least 50 percent of their yearly salary.

The study also found that 75,000 consumers, who enquired about loans during 2016, wanted to borrow more than they earned in 12 months. On average, this group requested 140 percent of their annual salary.

Researchers also found that among the reasons Brits wanted to borrow, the biggest increase between 2015 and 2017 was to fund weddings.

The number of loans taken to pay for weddings increased by around nine percent during this two-year period, with the average consumer wanting to borrow £7,600.

The second highest increase among the reasons for borrowing was for car loans. The amount a Brit wanted to borrow for a car loan increased by £581 between 2015 and 2017.

Kevin Pratt, consumer affairs expert at Moneysupermarket.com, said: "The amount consumers are looking to borrow using personal loans has increased across the board.

“This might be a sign that, despite falling disposable income and rising inflation, Brits are still determined to fund those things they find important."