How many mortgage brokers are there in the UK?
There is no single official count of UK mortgage brokers. No register counts individual brokers as a clean number. You can estimate the market from the FCA register of firms authorised to advise on and arrange mortgages, and from Companies House companies under SIC code 66220, but each measures something different and any total is indicative. The practical takeaway: the market is large, so one broker's no is rarely the market's answer.
Why there is no clean number
People expect a tidy figure, but the data does not provide one. The Financial Conduct Authority authorises firms, not individuals counted as brokers, and one firm can employ many advisers or be largely dormant. Company classifications are self-selected and imprecise. Appointed representatives operating under a network's authorisation muddy the count further. So rather than assert a number we cannot stand behind, this page explains the honest methodology.
The two sources you would use
- FCA Financial Services Register: firms with permission to advise on or arrange regulated mortgage contracts. This is the most authoritative source for who is authorised, at the firm level.
- Companies House SIC 66220: companies self-classified under the code commonly used for insurance and mortgage intermediaries. Useful for scale, but noisy.
Methodology and limits
A defensible estimate cross-references the two: FCA-authorised mortgage intermediary firms, sense-checked against Companies House SIC 66220 counts. The result is a range, not a fact, because of double-counting, dormant firms, advisers-per-firm variation, and constant churn as firms join and leave. We deliberately present this as indicative and do not publish a single headline number we cannot verify. This page carries a visible last-reviewed date and is refreshed periodically.
Common questions
Is there an official number of UK mortgage brokers?
No single official figure exists. There is no register that counts individual mortgage brokers as a clean number. The closest sources are the FCA register of authorised firms with mortgage permissions and Companies House company classifications, and each measures something slightly different.
How would you estimate it?
Two main ways. The FCA Financial Services Register lists firms authorised to advise on or arrange mortgages, which gives a firm-level count. Companies House lets you count companies registered under a relevant SIC code (66220 is commonly used for intermediaries). Combining them gives a range, not a precise total.
Why is any count only approximate?
Because a firm is not a person (one firm may have many advisers, or none actively broking), SIC codes are self-selected and imprecise, networks and appointed representatives complicate the picture, and firms enter and leave constantly. Any headline number should be treated as indicative.
Why does this matter to me?
It is a reminder that the market is large and varied, so the broker you happen to find first is rarely your only option. If one broker cannot place your case, another with different lender access often can. A regulated mortgage broker can advise you; we do not.
Founder, MortgageExplained
Adam spent over eight years as a mortgage adviser at Just Mortgages, with further experience in commercial finance. He is CeMAP and CF qualified. He built MortgageExplained to do one thing well: explain mortgages in plain English, so you know where you stand before you speak to a regulated broker. Every page on the site is written by Adam.
Last reviewed by Adam Parker