United Trust Bank (UTB) has appointed Caroline Mirakian to the role of mortgages, buy-to-let (BTL) and proposition and marketing director, following the recent merger of the firm's mortgage and bridging divisions. As part of her new role, Mirakian will champion the voice of brokers within UTB’s new mortgages, BTL and bridging division, ensuring that their feedback contributes to the lender's marketing strategy. She will be present in the market at events, taking part in various industry panels and holding strategic review meetings with distributors and other participants in the specialist lending industry.

Vida Homeloans has strengthened its specialist BTL proposition with the launch of let to move, a solution designed to support customers navigating life transitions. Whether relocating abroad, moving in with family, or still deciding their next steps, the proposition enables applicants to let their property while they move on. The product also gives brokers more options across Vida’s full BTL range. As part of its broader strategy to evolve its BTL offering, Vida has also introduced a consumer BTL product, which is designed to support accidental and non-professional landlords. It has also launched a new holiday BTL product, which supports short-term rental investments in popular UK holiday destinations.

The Mortgage Works has made enhancements to its product range to support landlords who want to grow their portfolios. The lender has increased its maximum loan per property from £1.5m to £2m for BTL and limited company applications. Its let-to-buy maximum loan amount has also been doubled to £1m, while its maximum overall borrowing amount also increased to £7.5m. As part of its affordability assessment for portfolio applications, The Mortgage Works will now be splitting its current ICR policy of 145% and will apply 125% to any properties in the portfolio owned within a limited company structure. For properties personally owned, the ICR policy will remain at 145%.

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