Professional Athletes · Mortgage
Mortgage approved using image rights PSC income alongside playing salary — after two specialist lender declines
A professional footballer with a substantial image rights income paid through a personal service company had been declined by two specialist brokers who could not find a lender willing to consider both income streams together. His playing salary alone did not support the borrowing he needed. We found a route that included both streams and completed the purchase.
Reviewed by Yazdaan Hussain · CeMAP qualified · LLB
1 August 2026
The Situation
Our client was a professional footballer with a playing contract at Championship level and a well-established commercial profile — sponsorships, endorsements and licensing arrangements paid through a personal service company in his name. His playing salary was approximately £280,000 per annum. His image rights company generated income of approximately £180,000 per annum on a broadly consistent basis over the previous three years, with full company accounts and tax returns available. He wanted to purchase a property at £1,850,000 with a 25% deposit. Two specialist brokers had already told him that no lender would consider the image rights income alongside his playing salary, and that his playing salary alone supported a lower mortgage than he required.
The Challenge
Image rights income sits in a unique and poorly understood position in UK mortgage underwriting. It is company income, not personal income — meaning it does not appear on a P60 and is not automatically assessed in the same way as self-employed income. Standard lenders exclude it entirely. Some specialist lenders who work with professional athletes will consider it, but the approach varies significantly: some require the image rights company to have been trading for a minimum period, some apply a discount to the income, some require it to be evidenced differently from employment income, and the treatment of retained profit versus drawings from the company is handled inconsistently. The challenge here was not finding a lender who would consider image rights income in principle — it was finding one whose specific criteria, income methodology and loan-to-value appetite combined in a way that actually worked for this client's numbers.
Our Approach
We undertook a detailed lender analysis, not at the level of headline criteria but at the level of underwriting methodology — specifically, how each lender with known appetite for athlete applications assessed image rights income, whether they required the client to draw the income or whether retained company profit was included, what documentation they accepted for a PSC structure, and what multiple they would apply. We cross-referenced this against the client's specific income split, the purchase price and LTV, and the contract length remaining on his playing deal. We identified one lender whose approach — treating the image rights company income on a self-employed director basis using net profit rather than drawings, combined with the playing salary — produced an assessment that supported the required borrowing. The submission was built to match their specific underwriting framework: two years of company accounts for the image rights entity, personal tax returns showing the split between salary and dividends, and a supporting note explaining the commercial structure and its duration.
The Outcome
Mortgage offered. The lender assessed both income streams within their underwriting framework, resulting in a total income figure that supported the full borrowing required at 75% LTV. The rate was competitive for a high-value specialist application. The purchase completed. The client has since engaged us on a portfolio review, looking at investment property alongside the primary residence.
Outcome
Mortgage offered. The lender assessed both income streams within their underwriting framework, resulting in a total income figure that supported the full borrowing required at 75% LTV. The rate was competitive for a high-value specialist application. The purchase completed. The client has since engaged us on a portfolio review, looking at investment property alongside the primary residence.
This case study is anonymised. The outcome shown is specific to this client's individual circumstances and is not indicative of results in other cases. Your mortgage is not guaranteed until a formal offer is issued. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Lockhart Murphy is a trading style of Mortgage Force (UK) Ltd who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA Number: 843041. Registered in England and Wales, Companies House No: 09394027.
- footballer
- image rights
- PSC
- personal service company
- professional athlete
- dual income
- Championship
- high value
- self-employed structure
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