Openwork adds Fleet Mortgages to panel as lending surges

Openwork is pleased to announce that Fleet Mortgages is joining its lender panel, with the network poised to write more than £10bn of mortgage business this year following a huge surge in lending in 2016.
Fleet Mortgages, a specialist lender based in Hampshire, will join the panel with immediate effect, enabling Openwork’s advisers to access Fleet’s range of buy-to-let mortgages for residential landlords, limited companies and those seeking finance for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
Openwork, which saw mortgage lending soar to a six-year high of £9.1bn in 2015, has enjoyed an even stronger start to 2016, with lending up 48% year-to-date compared with the same period last year. Openwork expects growth to remain strong, with Just Mortgages Direct having transitioned to the network last month, becoming its largest mortgage-focused Appointed Representative firm.
Paul Shearman, Mortgage Proposition Director at Openwork, says: “We are delighted to be adding Fleet Mortgages to our panel of mortgage lenders. With so many changes affecting the buy-to-let market it’s important that lenders and distributors work together to give their customers access to products that meet their changing needs.
“The addition of Fleet Mortgages will give our advisers access to a lender with strong knowledge of the specialist buy-to-let market and a particular focus on Limited Company lending, and lending to landlords with houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and multi-unit blocks.”
Bob Young, CEO of Fleet Mortgages, says: “Now that some of the dust has settled from an incredibly busy period for Fleet Mortgages over the last few months, we are looking to bolster our distribution panel with a number of key additions. First up is Openwork which has a strong reputation and long history in the financial advice marketplace; up until now its AR firms have been able to access our products via our packager relationships, but with this announcement they can now submit business direct to us.
“The buy-to-let market will continue to shift with the external interventions placed upon at, however at the heart of the matter is the continuing, and growing, need for a strong private rental sector. This will not change and we believe that demand from landlords for buy-to-let finance will remain strong – it’s our intention to offer specialist products and support to advisers and to continue to develop our proposition to be a leader in this sector.”