Gross mortgage lending dropped slightly in May 2019 by 0.4% to £21.9 billion, compared with the same month in 2018, new figures from UK Finance show.
Two thirds of this lending (£14 billion) is by the high street banks and this is 3.5% higher than May 2018.
The number of mortgages for home purchase approved by the main high street banks in May 2019 was 49,683, a rise of 9.1 per cent year-on-year, and the highest level since June 2016.
Approvals for other secured borrowing at high street banks rose by 5.9 per to 9,712 but remortgage approvals fell by 3.7 to 30,579 over the year.
The £11.3 billion of credit card spending in May 2019 was 5.6 per cent higher than the same month in 2018. Repayments have remained in line with credit card spending, showing that consumers are managing their finances effectively overall, says UK Finance.
Personal borrowing through loans from high street banks in May stood at £1.7 billion, which is 9.3 per cent higher than the same month in 2018.
Lending through bank overdrafts was 3.2 per cent lower at £6.3 billion compared to May 2018.
Deposits held in the high street banks’ personal accounts and savings accounts were 1.2% higher year-on-year at £854.3 billion.
Richard Pike, Phoebus Software sales and marketing director, said: “Looking at these latest figures from UK Finance, and the upwards swing in the number of mortgage approvals for house purchase, it appears the market is moving again despite the ongoing political turmoil in the UK.
“The increase in credit card spending is something that we do need to be mindful of, but currently we can also see that consumers are so far keeping up with repayments of their debt.
“One wonders whether credit cards are being used to keep up repayments on other areas as well? We must not only consider levels of debt but future affordability if credit card spending keeps increasing”.
Around £1.3bn of the money already spent by some of the country’s largest financial services companies has been in legal advice, relocation costs, and contingency provision.
They have spent a further £2.6bn in capital injections on building up non-UK headquarters – most commonly in Dublin, or in Luxembourg.
Omar Ali, UK financial services leader at EY, pointed out that the capital spent on those new headquarters “is value which is not being returned to shareholders or reinvested in UK businesses”.
“Over time some of this capital may flow back to the UK, but currently is a net loss for our economy,” Ali said.
EY’s quarterly Brexit tracker monitors 222 firms, but only 13 have put a figure on the exact financial impact of Brexit on their businesses so far.
The actual overall cost is likely to be far higher and the current estimates “a drop in the ocean”, according to Ali.
“The financial impact of Brexit is beginning to fall to the bottom line, and firms are now making a direct link between financial performance and the tangible commercial impacts of Brexit,” Ali said.
Capital expenditure on planning has cost businesses, but so too has the impact of Brexit on the economy. Slow demand for credit and low interest rates have hit revenues, and EY have noted a further 13 companies reporting financial detriment as a result of Brexit.
Some companies, notably those in fintech, have raised concerns over challenges they face in fundraising and in deferred M&A. Together with the loss of talent and of access to the free market, they potentially face a heavy financial hit.
The extension of the Brexit deadline to the end of October has given some breathing room, and many have paused their planning efforts over the last three months.
The slowdown in planning meant that the number of planned job and asset moves remained unchanged at 7,000 and £1trn respectively since the last quarter. Nonetheless, around 1,000 jobs have already been moved to mainland Europe.
EY noted that many firms are reluctant to make final decisions on relocation until absolutely necessary.
Given the continued political uncertainty, most businesses have had to put temporary contingency plans in place, which are neither efficient nor cheap.
“A more sustainable approach will need to follow once the long-term level of UK/EU market access becomes clearer,” Ali said.
If Britain falls out of the EU without a deal, Ali says, then “overnight, UK firms would lose their ability to passport services and branches into the EU. Neither would they have any EU equivalence determinations to fall back on, putting them at an immediate disadvantage to other third countries, such as the US, Singapore, and Hong Kong.”
“Along with possible political fallout, the EU’s mechanisms for coming to new trading arrangements are complex, requiring unanimity and individual approvals from certain members states’ parliaments. All of this suggests further significant restructuring for Firms in the aftermath of a no deal exit,” Ali added.
Of the companies monitored by the tracker, 29 have either already moved some operations to Dublin, or are considering it. Luxembourg has attracted 23 companies, and Frankfurt 22.
The tracker monitors 143 investment banks, asset managers and insurance providers, 55% of which have publically announced their intention to move operations out of the UK.
Around two thirds of UK buy to let investors are optimistic about the future of the private rental sector, despite the challenges faced by landlords.
Furthermore, more than one in ten of these are ‘very’ optimistic when it comes to investment property growth and yields.
The findings come in the latest research by Cambridge & Counties Bank, which has highlighted that a significant number of landlords are using the current market volatility to grow their portfolios.
Due to the optimistic viewpoint held by landlords, nearly a fifth (19 per cent) are looking to grow their portfolios by a third and 11 per cent want to double it over the next three years. The research found that just 19 per cent of landlords are looking to sell.
While landlords are optimistic, Brexit remains the biggest uncertainty for property sector professionals with two fifths (40 per cent) of landlords conceding that it is top of their list of concerns.
Brexit is seen as a bigger risk than rising interest rates, a lack of confidence in the stability of lenders, and rising levels of tax, which were all cited by 32 per cent of landlords.
The student accommodation market was close behind the general private rental sector when it came to positivity, with a similar number (61 per cent) of landlords are equally optimistic about student accommodation in terms of growth, and 16 per cent ‘very’ optimistic.
Office buildings and commercial properties are viewed positively by two fifths (41 per cent) of those asked – though almost a third are not optimistic.
A significant number of landlords also say they will be refurbishing their buy to let and investment properties, with an average of £10,000 set to be spent. One in 10 (11 per cent) of respondents said they would spend more than £20,000, with 4 per cent forecasting they would invest more than £50,000 on their portfolio.
Chief Commercial Director of Cambridge & Counties Bank, Simon Lindley, said: ‘In spite of Brexit worries, it is great to see that the overall outlook for the commercial property sector is one of optimism.’
The number of residential mortgages approved by banks dipped last month, easing back from a 26-month high in April but remaining above the monthly average.
Seasonally adjusted figures show that banks in Britain approved 42,384 house purchase mortgages in May, falling from roughly 42,900 in April but beating the consensus of 41,000.
The actual number of mortgages for home purchase approved by the main high street banks in May 2019 was also 9.1 per cent higher than in the same month in 2018, marking the highest annual level since June 2016.
According to UK Finance, which released the figures this morning, gross mortgage lending across the residential market in May 2019 was £21.9bn, falling 0.4 per cent compared with the same month in 2018.
“May’s mortgage approvals data support the view that housing market activity may well have got at least some temporary support from the avoidance of a disruptive Brexit at the end of March. It may very well also be that the housing market has benefited from recent improved consumer purchasing power and robust employment growth,” said Howard Archer, chief economic advisor at the EY ITEM Club.
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “The increase in mortgages for home purchase, rising to the highest level in three years, is hugely encouraging when you consider the political uncertainty which is causing many people to put decisions to move on hold.”
He added: “It suggests a much more resilient market than one might expect, and once a decision is made over Brexit, one way or another, we are likely to see a further uptick in transactions as pent-up demand is released.”
More overseas landlords are coming forward to admit not paying tax on their rental income after the government targeted suspected avoiders, new research has shown.
According to accountants and business advisers Moore Stephens, in the year to April 397 overseas-based buy-to-let landlords admitted to HM Revenue and Customs they had not been paying tax on the funds they received from tenants.
This was up 61 per cent on the 246 that came forward in the previous year.
HMRC has been targeting suspected tax avoiders with threatening letters alongside launching a ‘Let Property Campaign’, aimed to encourage landlords to voluntarily disclose that they had not paid the full amount.
Moore Stephens suggested HMRC’s mailshot to thousands of landlords suggested the government knew many of these buy-to-let consumers were not declaring the full tax they owed.
If landlords don’t respond within 30 days of receiving these letters from HMRC, they are liable to face penalties based on what HMRC believes they owe or criminal investigations for non-compliance.
HMRC is using its Connect database — which can cross-reference taxpayers’ details against estate agent client lists — to gather information on landlords, and it is estimated Connect now generates 80 per cent of the government’s tax investigations.
HMRC also access data from the Tenancy Deposit Schemes, Land Registry data and even social media profiles to cross reference buy-to-let landlords against people declaring rental income.
Jonathan Green, partner at Moore Stephens, said: “More and more landlords are starting to approach HMRC to avoid the risk of being hit with heavy sanctions further down the line.”
“HMRC is ‘offering the chance’ to landlords to bring their tax affairs up to date. However, the letters being sent out by HMRC make it pretty clear that it is threatening a full-blown investigation.”
Mr Green went on to say that while most landlords were aware they owed tax, many others just didn’t know what their responsibilities were.
He added: “In some cases, people have inherited buy-to-let properties and others think that because they are only making a modest profit it doesn’t count.
“It is very easy to make mistakes or get behind on your paperwork for a buy-to-let investment.”
Mr Green added that landlords must seek professional advice if they realised they had underpaid tax.
Carl Shave, director at Just Mortgage Brokers, said independent financial advisers and mortgage brokers needed to play their part in the process of landlords understanding their tax requirements as they had a duty to highlight these responsibilities to their clients.
He said: “HMRC are showing their continued intent for cracking down on tax avoidance and overseas landlords are no exception.
“Landlords are under increased pressure in regard to tax and legislation with numerous changes being introduced within the sector. However, ignorance is not an excuse in matters with such importance and property investors, professional and accidental alike, have a responsibility that goes hand in hand with property ownership.”
Mr Shave went on to say that if consumers were not familiar with the market or had concerns, they must look for professional advice wherever possible.
Finding the right sort of property to rent can be a bewlidering time for many when faced with the choice of buy-to-let or build-to-rent or some other jargon-filled combination.
However new research suggests the build-to-rent market will emerge victor and soon account for a third of the private rental market.
But many believe the government’s encouragement of iinvestment away from the buy-to-let sector and into the build-to-rent sector will be costly for those who want to rent.
Leading room share platform, ideal flatmate, looked at the cost of renting a room in all of their build-to-rent developments and then compared this to the average cost of renting in the wider buy-to-let market
The website has the exclusive listing rights for all UK build-to-rent properties, matching groups of tenants who show interest in a given development and then providing them to each developer once a flat is fully let.
Additional benefits
Its research found that the vast majority of build-to-rent developers offered a wealth of additional benefits included in the price such as gym use, amenities, wifi and even parking.
So ideal flatmate also looked at the cost of these extras on top of the average rent for the wider area to give a more like for like comparison on build-to-rent value for money.
The study shows that on average, the cost of renting a room in a build-to-rent development is just 15% higher than the cost of renting in the buy-to-let market – £868 on average compared to £752.
However, there are a total of seven areas across the UK where build-to-rent offers even better value than the wider market.
JLL’s development in Queen Street in Leicester has a rental cost of just £405 a month, 33% cheaper than the room rental average and cost of amenities in Leicester (£605).
Urbanbubble’s development in Liverpool costs just £500 a month compared to the average of £575 for a room and amenities elsewhere in the city – a 13% difference.
Allsop’s Forth Banks development in Newcastle is also 13% cheaper at a cost of £500 a month with renting a room and bills across the city as a whole totalling £591.
In Manchester there is almost no difference in value between the average build-to-rent cost between LIV Group and Way of Life’s developments and the city average, coming in £2 cheaper on average.
The highest build-to-rent premium is in Tower Hamlets where the average cost of a room in a development is 44% higher than the borough average.
Lewisham is the home to the next highest rental premium at 35%, with Salford build-to-rent costing 14% more on average.
Co-founder of ideal flatmate, Tom Gatzen, commented: “Build-to-rent has come under scrutiny due to the higher rental costs but when you consider the additional benefits there is a very strong argument that these developments provide much better value for money.
“For a start, they are new builds so the quality is very good and they have a much more professional management structure in place to support tenants when compared to the traditional communication chain of the tenant, letting agent and landlord.
“They also offer a lot more for your money in terms of amenities included in the price, with many providing wifi, bills and a gym as standard.
“This comes on top of other benefits such as parking and private gardens and while you pay more as a lump rental sum for these benefits, the convenience of paying for everything in one go is something that appeals massively to today’s generation of tenants.”
A new report estimates the purpose-built student accommodation, build-to-rent residential and retirement sectors will eventually reach a combined value of £880 billion, as private and institutional investors from around identify the huge opportunity in these assets.
Summary:
Three of the UK’s biggest purpose-built property sectors are forecast to rise in value by four times their current combined amount
Purpose-built student accommodation, build-to-rent residential and retirement property sectors are receiving increasing levels of global investment, particularly from institutional buyers
“The fundamental demographic and economic changes supporting these sectors are difficult for investors and developers to ignore”, as changing generational attitudes are helping to drive the development of Britain’s property market
There is a huge growth opportunity for investors in the UK’s large-scale, professionally owned real estate sectors.
That’s the message from Savills, who estimate that three of the country’s largest purpose-built property sectors are set to quadruple in value once they reach full maturity.
At present, the combined value of the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), build-to-rent residential and retirement property sectors stands at £223 billion. But, as momentum in these markets continue to build, this will be rise four times to £880 billion.
Although already established sectors, they are still in their infancy in terms of the growth opportunity for investors. As more students, young professionals and retirees demand higher-standard accommodation, in locations close to places and amenities important to their respective demographics, the advancement of these purpose-built property sectors will continue to drive investment levels.
“Common to all these sectors is the recognition that investing in where people live has great potential for investors, particularly those seeking long term income streams,’ said Lawrence Bowles, Savills research analyst.
“The fundamental demographic and economic changes supporting these sectors are difficult for investors and developers to ignore. Institutional interest will continue to grow as these asset classes mature and can increasingly demonstrate their track record.”
Of these sectors, PBSA is currently the most mature, with Savills estimating its value at £51.2 billion. Last year, global investors poured £3.1 billion into the sector, and a further 35,000 PBSA are expected to be bought in 2019. However, while total PBSA unit numbers stands at 640,000, the UK’s student population has increased 9.7% over the last five years, underlining the undersupply the sector currently faces.
Like PBSA, the build-to-rent sector has helped to raise standards in the UK’s residential rental market, with high-quality apartments in key city centre locations, operated by professional management companies.
But build-to-rent is only just at the beginning of its development, presenting investors with huge growth potential. Savills currently values the sector at £9.6 billion, but projects it will be worth close to £550 billion at full maturity and provide over 1.7 million UK households.
Yet, despite their similarities, only a relatively small number of institutional investors operate in both the PBSA and build-to-rent markets. Savills, however, believes this will soon change.
“Given the similar challenges in development and management, we would expect to see more investors expanding their capabilities to cover the full spectrum of operational residential assets,” commented Peter Allen, Head of Savills Operational Capital Markets.
“Student housing investors have the potential to extend their brands into build to rent and use a strong track record in a very established sector to secure favourable finance terms to maximise opportunities in a newer, less mature sector.”
On 23 June 2016, the UK public voted on whether or not to stay in the European Union (EU). Many expected the UK to remain in the EU, but by a majority of 52% to 48% the Leave campaign won.
The UK was scheduled to leave the EU at 23:00 UK time on 29 March 2019. However, after the UK parliament failed to approve the Withdrawal Agreement, it was granted an extension with a new deadline set for 31 October 2019.
Below is a timeline of crucial dates along the road to Brexit and six charts showing how the UK economy and financial markets have fared over the past three years.
The economy
Azad Zangana, Senior European Economist and Strategist said while the UK economy has remained relatively stable through a turbulent period, real risks remain on the horizon.
“UK economic growth bounced back at the start of 2019 but still remains sluggish. Having slowed markedly in the final quarter of 2018 the UK economy grew 0.5% for the first three months of 2019.
“Growth was helped by stockpiling ahead of the initial Brexit deadline on fears that a no deal could dry up imports, which also led to the biggest quarterly trade deficit since at least 1992.
“But whether the disruption hits or not, a build-up of inventories will lead to de-stocking at some point. This is likely to cause the economy to slow.
“The resignation of Prime Minister Theresa May has raised the risk of a no-deal Brexit. If the bookmakers’ favourite, the former foreign secretary and mayor of London Boris Johnson, becomes the new prime minister, then the hard-line Brexiteer could take the UK out of the EU without a deal.
“If this were to happen, we would anticipate the economy to slow and fall into recession around the turn of the year. While the Bank of England would probably cut interest rates eventually, the expected depreciation in the pound would cause inflation to spike. The household sector has already run down its safety buffer in the form of its savings rate, therefore a contraction in demand is very likely.”
Sterling
Arguably the biggest barometer of Brexit is the value of the British pound. Since the vote to leave it has fallen more than 14% against the US dollar and 13% against the euro.
The strength or weakness of a currency is linked to the health of its country’s economy and the stability of if its government.
The material is not intended to provide advice of any kind. Information herein is believed to be reliable but Schroders does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Past performance is not a guide to what investors can expect in the future.
What’s happened in markets since Brexit?
FTSE vs sterling
While the weakness in the pound has made traveling abroad more expensive for those who earn their money in pounds, it has provided a boost for UK stocks.
More than two thirds (70%) of the revenues of the companies listed on the FTSE All-Share index are generated overseas. When the profits from those revenues are converted from a strengthening currency back into sterling they are worth more.
The chart below shows how closely the fortunes of UK stocks have correlated with the fall (and sometimes rise) of the pound against the US dollar.
The material is not intended to provide advice of any kind. Information herein is believed to be reliable but Schroders does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Past performance is not a guide to what investors can expect in the future.
Stock markets
In the immediate aftermath of the referendum the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 fell 9% and 12%, respectively. But since the close of the market on 23 June 2016, UK shares, as measured by the FTSE All-Share, have risen 28.1% as of 15 June 2019.
The relatively stable global economic backdrop has been helpful. Global investors have bought into the so-called Goldilocks scenario; a “not too hot, not too cold” combination of stable growth, benign inflation and low interest rates.
Support for the UK market and the economy came from the Bank of England (BoE), which has kept monetary policy loose, ensuring businesses and markets have access to funding.
However, the UK stock market has lagged global stocks. Since the Brexit vote, China shares have returned 42.1%, according to Thomson Reuters data; US stocks returned 41.6% and world stocks have returned 32.7%.
UK stocks have returned 28.1%, marginally outperforming emerging market and Japanese shares which returned 27.3% and 26.8% respectively. European stocks returned 17.5%.
The material is not intended to provide advice of any kind. Information herein is believed to be reliable but Schroders does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Past performance is not a guide to what investors can expect in the future.
Of course, there are lots of other factors that have influenced UK and other markets during this period. The global nature of UK equities has led to international developments setting the tone for the market, and this continued to be the case since the EU referendum.
Some of the key international drivers over the past three years have included monetary policy decisions by the world’s major central banks, global economic activity and, more latterly, US-China trade tensions.
Domestic vs international earners
Although the UK stock market has held up relatively well, there has been a contrast between domestic companies which earn most of their revenue outside the UK versus those that earn most of their revenues internationally.
As the chart below illustrates, in the period from mid-2013 through to the end of 2015, the UK economy outperformed the global economy, sterling was strong and UK domestic companies outperformed UK overseas earners. Then, as Brexit fears set in and the UK voted to leave the EU, UK domestics significantly underperformed. Exchange rates were a major driver of this, as the market discounted the beneficial translational impact of weaker sterling for companies with significant overseas earnings. However, it was also in large part due to UK domestic companies suffering a “de-rating” amid fears the UK economy would grow at a lower rate going forward outside the EU..
Investors have indiscriminately shunned UK stocks as a consequence of Brexit, and the market overall has suffered a de-rating. Prior to the EU referendum, investors had been prepared to pay approximately 15x the UK stock market’s expected aggregate earnings for the year ahead. Today, this multiple, or “rating” is around 13x, which compares very favourably to the global stock market, trading on approximately 15x expected 2018 aggregate earnings.
The material is not intended to provide advice of any kind. Information herein is believed to be reliable but Schroders does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Past performance is not a guide to what investors can expect in the future.
UK stocks unloved and valuation at 30-year lows
The negativity of international investors towards UK equities is entrenched – global fund managers have been “underweight” the UK for three years, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s global fund manager survey. Investors are said to be underweight an asset class when they are allocating less capital to it than would normally be the case.
Valuations reflect the degree to which investors have shunned UK equities. The chart below tracks the UK market’s valuation discount versus global equities based on the average of three metrics. The metrics used are:
Price-to-book value (PBV) ratio – The ratio used to compare a company’s share price with its book value (the book value is the actual value of the company assets minus its liabilities).
Price-to-earnings (PE) – A ratio used to value a company’s shares. It is calculated by dividing the current market price by the earnings per share.
Price-to-dividends (PD) ratios – A ratio that shows how much a company pays out in dividends each year relative to its share price.
All valuation metrics have their strengths and weaknesses, so combining three reduces the risk of distortions.
The material is not intended to provide advice of any kind. Information herein is believed to be reliable but Schroders does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Past performance is not a guide to what investors can expect in the future.
Sue Noffke, Head of UK Equities, said near-term issues persist whilst Brexit remains unresolved but UK shares provide plenty of opportunities.
“Based on this analysis, UK equities are trading at a 30% valuation discount to global peers, close to their 30-year lows. While it is likely to persist until there is some form of clarity over the terms of any Brexit deal, the valuation gap provides an attractive entry point for investors with long time horizons.
“If we do experience a recession in the near term, we would expect it to be local to the UK (possibly the result of a disorderly Brexit) rather than a global one, although we are in the latter stages of the economic cycle. This gives us a degree of comfort that the UK equity market’s yield (currently around 4.5%) is sustainable as the large majority of UK stock market dividends derive from overseas.
“As stock pickers we see plenty of opportunities within the UK – across all parts of the market, large as well as small and mid-sized companies – which could help build portfolios capable of generating superior long-term returns.”
Investments concentrated in a limited number of geographical regions can be subjected to large changes in value which may adversely impact the performance of the fund.
Equity [company] prices fluctuate daily, based on many factors including general, economic, industry or company news.
Please be aware the value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amounts originally invested.
Buy to let property investment relies on rental demand and letting platform, Bunk, has researched where in the UK has the highest rental demand from prospective tenants.
The platform looked at rental listings across all of the major property portals and took an average score for the nation’s major cities based on which had the highest number of properties already let as a percentage of all listings.
The research highlights where the highest level of rental demand currently is based on this supply/demand ratio.
They found that Bristol tops the table as the highest rental demand city for tenants in the UK, with 50 per cent of all properties listed as already having a let agreed and therefore taken.
Newport in Wales has the next highest rental demand with a score of 39 per cent, with Nottingham, Plymouth, Cambridge, Portsmouth and Bournemouth all scoring above 30 per cent.
Oxford with 29 per cent, Manchester 26 per cent, and Glasgow with 25 per cent complete the top 10 cities with the highest rental demand.
At the other end of the scale, the city with the lowest rental demand was found to be Aberdeen, with just 8 per cent of all properties on the major portals listed as already let. Newcastle and Edinburgh were also home to a rental demand score below 15 per cent.
Leeds, Swansea, Liverpool, Cardiff, Belfast, London and Sheffield also ranked amongst the least in demand cities.
In London, Havering is the most in-demand borough with a rental demand score of 43 per cent, along with Lewisham. Sutton, Bromley and Bexley also scored 40 per cent or higher.
Kensington and Chelsea is the least in demand borough at just 9 per cent, with prime central London also accounting for the second and third lowest demand scores in Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham.
Co-founder of Bunk, Tom Woollard, commented: ‘Bristol may not stack up to London in terms of size and status but the city’s youthful, vibrant image has made it a firm favourite amongst tenants and it has previously been voted one of the best cities to live in across the UK.
‘We’re starting to see a real change in the rental market with a number of the more alternative cities coming to the forefront in terms of popularity. The likes of Bristol, Nottingham and Plymouth are becoming great rental hubs for those looking for a great place to live, without paying through the roof as they would in London or the more established major cities.’
Two thirds (64%) of landlords are optimistic about the outlook of the residential buy-to-let sector despite Brexit, according to latest research by Cambridge and Counties Bank.
The research found that more than one in 10 (13%) are “very” optimistic in terms of investment growth and yields.
Simon Lindley, chief commercial director, Cambridge & Counties Bank, said: “In spite of Brexit worries, it is great to see that the overall outlook for the commercial property sector is one of optimism.
“We remain very much focussed on supporting our clients with our comprehensive product suite and in doing so maintain our market leading level of customer satisfaction.”
Nearly a fifth (19%) are reportedly looking to grow their portfolios by a third and 11% want to double their portfolio over the next three years.
Brexit remains a key uncertainty for property sector professionals, with two fifths (40%) of landlords conceding that it is top of their list of concerns.
The research revealed that just one in five (20%) landlords said they were very confident of their lender’s stability.
Lindley added: “Cambridge & Counties Bank has seen a steady stream of borrowers switching from other lenders, often recommended by the intermediaries and brokers we work closely with on a daily basis.
“We are actively focussed on becoming the bank of choice for professional property investors and landlords.
“We will capitalise on the record set of results we posted for the financial year in 2018 and the momentum we have across the UK to grow our market share further.”
