Skipton International tops £100 million of expat mortgages

Less than two years after launching UK buy-to-let mortgages, Skipton International has passed £100 million of lending to British expats around the world.

The Channel island-registered bank launched expat mortgages in 2014 as a response to the difficulties British expat customers faced obtaining a mortgage on UK investment properties and has now completed over 500 mortgages.

Earlier this year Skipton opened up their mortgages to self-employed applicants and expanded their eligible country list, enabling British expats living in even more countries around the world to access the mortgages.

Jim Coupe, Managing Director, Skipton International, said: “Our buy-to-let mortgages have been very popular with British expats around the world. In the past year alone we have seen demand grow hugely, especially from expats in Europe and from the Gulf region.

“British expats choose to invest in UK property for many reasons, however, for our clients, long term investment potential is a very significant factor.”

In a survey by Skipton International earlier this year, 35% of expats surveyed cited long term investment as their main reason for investing in UK buy-to-let. Other reasons included pension planning (19%), a desire to remain invested in UK property (12%), rental income, and difficulties or reluctance to buy in their country of residence (both 10%).

The survey also found that 87% of overseas buy-to-let investors expect their rental income to increase or stay the same for the next 12 months, while 70% of investors expect the value of their property to increase over the next 12 months.

Jim said: “There have been a few changes for overseas landlords over the past year such as the stamp duty levy on buy-to-let properties, and the removal of interest rate relief for landlords. However, the UK has continued to prove to be an attractive location for overseas investors, and as increasing demand for our mortgages shows, the vast majority of expats are still confident about investing in UK buy-to-let.”

Skipton International also offers a range of savings accounts, with competitive interest rates, for UK expats in over 100 countries. The Guernsey-registered bank won the Moneyfacts Award for Best Offshore Account Provider 2016, a category it was also Commended and Highly Commended for in 2014 and 2015.

Ends

For further information or interviews please contact Julia Hunt at Direct Input.

Telephone +44 (0)1534 735253 or email julia@directinput.je

Skipton International offers a range of offshore savings accounts and is one of the Channel Islands’ leading mortgage lenders.

In 2014 Skipton International launched a range of mortgages for British expats looking to purchase a Buy-to-let property in the UK. For more information on Skipton International please visit www.skiptoninternational.com

Skipton International was recently named Guernsey Business of the Year at the Awards for Achievement. The bank has been at least commended by Moneyfacts for the past six years, winning on three occasions while independent research from Feefo shows 95% of customers rate Skipton’s service as Good or Excellent. 

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