Barclays acquired the business for an undisclosed amount from companies controlled by funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and funds affiliated with Sixth Street. The companies have jointly owned the business since 2015.
Kensington Mortgages has around 600 employees and originated around £1.9bn of mortgages, including retentions, in the year ended 31 March 2022.
The specialist lender is recognised in the industry for having a “market-leading data and technology platform”, which has lead to “profitable growth, product innovation and exceptional loan underwriting performance”.
Kensington Mortgages’ employees will become part of the wider Barclays Group and Kensington Mortgages will retain its brand and be a largely standalone business.
However, it will benefit from the financial strength, deposit funding base and operational reach of Barclays.
Barclays reached an agreement to acquire Kensington Mortgages in June last year, following reports that Barclays, Starling Bank, M&G and Pimco were bidding for the specialist lender’s assets.
In June, it was said that the bank expected to pay around £2.3bn for the specialist lender, but the exact consideration is dependents on the value of Kensington Mortgages’ portfolio upon completion.
Mark Arnold (pictured), CEO of Kensington Mortgages, said the acquisition marked the “start of an exciting new chapter of growth for Kensington”.
“We have a strong track-record in the specialist mortgage space, using our proprietary technology, data analytics and human insights to design innovative products and make lending decisions to serve our customer base – the self-employed and those with multiple or variable incomes,” she added.
Arnold continued: “As a major UK bank with a broad reach and offering, Barclays is well-placed to support our expansion. We look forward to working with them closely to bring our propositions to a wider range of individuals across the UK. “
He thanked Blackstone and Sixth Street “for all their support and investment over the last eight years”.
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