Exclusive: Kensington Mortgages launches limited company buy-to-let as lender overhauls criteria

The limited company mortgages will be available from May 17, with loan to values (LTV) up to 80% and rates starting from 3.14% for a two-year fixed-rate at 70% LTV.

Landlords are also set to benefit from a simpler process for portfolio verification, with limited company investors to only be assessed on the property portfolio of the company.

At the same time, Kensington is to increase in maximum residential loan sizes to £1m at 90% loan to value (LTV), and will also offer 90% LTV mortgages on new build properties and Right to Buy flats.

The lender will also offer up to 90% LTV on its select premier large loan range, with maximum loan amounts of £2m up to 80% LTV and £1m up to 90% LTV.

Maximum loan sizes have further been raised across select and core ranges to £2m at up to 80% LTV and to £500,000 for up to 90% LTV.

More changes to come

The launch into the limited company sector and latest changes are just part of a series of criteria updates to be released by Kensington over the coming weeks.

Craig McKinlay, sales and marketing director at the lender told Mortgage Solutions: “We want to be a multi-niche lender and play in lots of different [focused areas] of the market.”

Among the lenders’ niches are the self-employed, light adverse, contractors and high earners.

He added: “These latest changes to our mortgage proposition reinforce our commitment to a growing specialist lending market as we open up our range to new customers and provide more flexibility for borrowers with complex incomes.

“I’m confident that this extensive update to our residential and buy-to-let proposition will be received positively by our broker partners, but they are also just the first in a series of announcements that we at Kensington are excited to be sharing over the coming weeks.”

Danny Belton, head of lender relationships at Legal & General Mortgage Club, added: “It’s great to see Kensington continuing to address gaps in the market and support intermediaries in serving the needs of their customers in both the residential and buy-to-let sectors.

“The improvements to the residential maximum loan size and LTV on larger loans are a much-needed solution for brokers and customers alike, and we believe the new buy-to-let offering will further act as a helping hand to landlords managing their portfolios.”