Women in their forties are taking out loans in huge numbers to fund a home improvement craze, new figures from GE Money show.

The fortysomethings are borrowing an average of almost €12,000 to fund home extensions.

The abundance of property magazines and makeover t.v programmes have no doubt fueled the craze for home improvement, which is seen as the most foolproof way of adding value to property.

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GE Money said the big surge in women in their 40s taking out home improvement loans was in addition to the thousands of people topping up their mortgage in order to make alterations to their properties.

It estimated that a total of "€8bn will be taken out in all types of loans this year, with borrowings for cars, home improvements and holidays the most popular".

Enda Treacy of GE Money said: "Borrowing for home improvements represents over 25% of all our personal loans. This is in line with industry trends and is in addition to those who re-mortgage for extensions and other structural improvements."

(VB)