The mutual already offers mortgages to anyone based in Dorset as well as those working in the education profession across the whole country.
The move into Hampshire is expected to signal the start of an expansion in the coming years. Teachers BS chief executive James Bawa said the plans were formed after customer and intermediary requests.
“We’re based on the eastern fringes of Dorset and we’d been getting requests from five miles away but were turning down the business,” he said. “That was a bit of an own goal.
“Portman Building Society used to be strong in this area but since its demise people have been looking for another building society. We want to be seen as a regional building society.
“Nearly 70% of customers have a partner not in education, so we have been lending to non-educational professionals anyway. Our previous approach had been overly cautious.”
Bawa said the lender is expecting to expand its lending area again at the end of next year. Mortgage Solutions understands the lender will look to grow westwards next, with Devon and Somerset the likely targets for expansion.
“We’ve been going cautiously but we’re confident we can meet business levels and the look to expand again in the third quarter of next year.”
Teachers has increased lending dramatically since its return to the intermediary sector in 2011 and is planning further growth in the next 12 months.
“We’re targeting £55-60m of lending next year and we are looking for intermediaries to make up about 75% of that total,” Bawa said.
Sally Laker, managing director of Mortgage Intelligence Holdings, said: “With Teachers Building Society now lending to non-teaching applicants in the Hampshire area I feel this is a welcome addition to their proposition allowing even more advisers access to their competitive products and excellent service.”
