Skipton Building Society has reduced rates further across its mortgage product range. Among these changes, rate reductions have been made across the lender’s fixed new business range by up to 0.46%. Furthermore, Skipton has re-introduced its residential two-year 90% LTV base rate tracker for new business. The biggest rate reduction has been made to the five-year fixed buy-to-let (BTL) 75% LTV product with a £2,995 fee, reducing from 4.95% to 4.49%. For existing customer products, two-year 90% no fee products start from 5.29%, with two-year 90% products with a £495 fee start at 5.19%. Two- and five-year BTL products with a £995 fee start at 4.79% and 4.31% respectively.

Access Financial Services has partnered with Nomo Bank to offer customers access to Shariah-compliant property finance for UK rental and residential property. The products address a clear gap in the market for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) based customers looking for holiday homes, BTL properties and other residential opportunities. There are very few options available to GCC-based customers in search of property finance in the UK, especially those who want to adhere to Shariah law. Nomo’s financing means customers can buy a UK property using a product that does not require them to compromise on their beliefs. Nomo’s technology makes applications easy for brokers and their GCC-based customers. As customers are not required to have a UK credit footprint, they can set up a UK bank account quickly and seamlessly, something which can often be a barrier when looking to purchase a property.

Aegon UK has completed the transfer of Nationwide Building Society’s financial planning service into the business. This will see more than 300 new jobs at Aegon UK and the creation of a new service, Aegon Financial Planning. The extension to the existing strategic partnership between Aegon UK and Nationwide was announced in August 2023 and is a step forward for Aegon in its aims to become the leading digital platform in the UK. Sitting with the governance of Origen, the wholly owned subsidiary of Aegon UK, this new service will provide dedicated ongoing support for Nationwide customers around investment products.

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