Fleet Mortgages reveals strong first quarter performance
09 April 2015
Fleet Mortgages, the new buy-to-let and specialist lender, has today (9th April 2015) revealed a strong first full quarter of business with strong volumes and considerable intermediary engagement.
In the first three months of 2015 Fleet Mortgages had £145 million worth of buy-to-let business put through its system by intermediaries, with an average loan size across all types of products of £245k.
Fleet Mortgages’ products are tailored towards experienced landlords and property investors, and cover mainstream buy-to-let residential mortgages as well as finance for those investing through limited company vehicles and houses in multiple occupation (HMO).
Over the first quarter limited company and HMO products accounted for 40% of Fleet Mortgages’ total business with the rest covering individual landlord deals. The quality of the business received from its intermediary partners has been very high with an average LTV of 69% and overall very good credit scores achieved for borrower applicants.
In terms of its engagement with the mortgage intermediary sector, Fleet currently has some of the largest distributors on its panel and during the first three months 1,100 individual advisers registered to conduct business from 660 advisory firms.
A survey of advisers who used Fleet Mortgages in the first quarter suggests a number of reasons why they have engaged with the new lender, namely:
1. Its’ simple, well-priced product range.
2. The fact it is willing to lend to those borrowers who already have existing property portfolios.
3. Its’ ability to process a full decision-in-principle (DIP) quickly and the speed which it can be converted to a full mortgage application.
Fleet Mortgage says volume levels continue to grow and, as a result, it will continue to engage with new distributors and increase its activity in the marketplace.
Bob Young, Chief Executive Officer of Fleet Mortgages, commented:
“The first three months of the year have flown by and we are delighted to be able to announce details of the activity which has taken place during our first full quarter of lending. We came to market with significant ambitions however to have £145 million of business through our system during the first three months of 2015 has exceeded our expectations. Especially given the fact we have achieved this activity from a standing start. It is not just the level of business we have seen which is pleasing but the very high quality of the cases from our intermediary partners with larger average loan sizes than anticipated, coupled with lower average LTVs and some incredibly credit-worthy borrowers.
“Our approach, in working with top-quality distributors who have vast experience of the buy-to-let sector, has certainly paid off and we see no reason why we won’t continue to see this type of quality business through the Fleet Mortgages’ system. We have been very clear about the proposition and our focus on a number of underserved areas, especially limited companies and HMOs, and the fact these two sub-sectors have accounted for 40% of our volume is very promising. It’s our intention to be the go-to lender in these areas and it appears this message is already hitting home. It has been a very promising start to the year and as we broaden our intermediary reach we will also be ramping up our lending activity in the months to come.
“I would like to applaud the considerable hard work of Fleet Mortgages’ staff and thank them, and also everyone involved at our intermediary distribution partners who have helped us develop our proposition and have allowed us to kick-off our lending activities in such a strong position. It all augurs well for the future and we couldn’t have done it without them.”
For further information on Fleet Mortgages, please visit: www.fleetmortgages.co.uk
