Recognise Bank partners with Rent Chief to offer property investment research tools

This is Rent Chief’s first lending partnership since launch by Patrick Shuker in 2019 to help property investors and managers run their businesses more effectively with technology.

Rent Chief’s property investment calculator and property research tool will be available free of charge on Recognise Bank’s website.

The calculator will help landlords and investors forecast gross yield and overall return on investment in their property, whilst the research tool provides sales and rental prices by postcode.

Recognise Bank’s professional buy-to-let (BTL) customers will be able to get a free three-month trial of Rent Chief’s property management platform, and if they continue after the trial period a 10 per cent discount on a 12-month plan.

The platform offers rental management reminders, such as when gas safety checks are due, stores important documents and allows landlords to communicate directly with renters.

Angela Norman, head of corporate development for Recognise Bank, said: “We want to provide professional landlords and investors with more than just a BTL loan, we are on a mission to help them run successful, profitable, rental portfolios, and in doing so ensure good quality homes for the UK’s renters.

“Rent Chief’s tools and calculators gives buyers the resources they need to make informed property investment choices and manage their portfolios professionally. It’s good to partner with another great fintech firm and, in particular working with Patrick, I think we have created a fantastic package for landlords and investors.”

Shuker added: “Rent Chief was created in response to my experience of both investing in and managing property. Outside of corporate property management, there wasn’t a solution for professional landlords that would not only help them make more profitable property investments, but also to manage their rental portfolios all in one place.

“The challenges to landlords are only going to increase in terms of maximising profit from their properties, but also ensuring good quality homes for tenants due to factors such as increased EPC standards. I saw in Recognise Bank a desire to really support professionalism in the sector, an ambition that Rent Chief shares, so I am delighted to be partnering with the bank.”

Recognise Bank entered the BTL market in November this year with an offering aimed at professional landlords with four properties or more.

At the time of the launch, it said that there was over £20m in deals completed or still in progress and it recently completed a £5m professional BTL refinance on over 100 properties in Manchester.

The bank gained its banking licence in November last year and got Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) authorisation in September this year to collect deposits. This is after it completed a £14m raise in August, which allowed it to meet PRA requirements.

It is aimed at SMEs, and offers a range of commercial mortgages, bridging loans, working capital loans and professional practice loans. It also launched personal savings products in September.