In the nine months to September, £800m worth of buy-to-let business was processed by the lenders’ intermediary partners, with over half of this seeing its way to completion. Fleet has now set itself a renewed lending target of £750m for 2016.
Lending in the third quarter of 2015 saw growth of 55% compared to the previous quarter, with the split between products at around 50% for standard buy-to-let deals, 25% in limited company mortgages and a further 25% in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) business.
Fleet said it has noted an upswing in limited company enquiries following the government’s decision to slash the upper rate of tax relief for landlords’ mortgage interest payments from 2017. The lender anticipates more landlords will look to explore limited company structures as an option for existing and new properties within their portfolio.
In 2016 Fleet said it would launch into further underserved areas of the market including larger portfolio lending for professional landlords, semi-commercial and eventually full commercial lending.
Bob Young, CEO of Fleet Mortgages (pictured), said the lender was aiming to reach a 24-hour turnaround from decision in principle (DIP) to offer, which it would achieve through boosting recruitment.
“We’ve been particularly pleased with the quality of business we’ve attracted, which has been much higher than even we expected and has allowed us to make some significant criteria changes recently such as increasing the maximum loan value and the maximum loan exposure for new borrowers. Recruitment remains a key focus for us as we add quality individuals to the team in order to maintain our service levels.”
He added: “We now look forward to the next year where we will continue to focus on maintaining our commitment to the intermediary sector and ensuring we continue to deliver the buy-to-let products clients want and need.”
