Press releases
Legal & General Home Finance reaches £3bn total lending milestone
Legal & General Home Finance has reached £3bn of total lending since entering the market in 2015, representing a “significant milestone” on its journey to bringing later life lending into the mainstream.
20 Dec 2018
The achievement comes on the back of strong results in the first six months of 2018, with lifetime mortgage advances up 23% on 2017 at £521m and a market share of 28%.1
This growth means that Legal & General Home Finance is now responsible for 1 in 3 new lifetime mortgage originations in the UK.
Over 2018 Legal & General Home Finance has positioned itself as the mortgage lender for over 55s with a series of key product launches. These include the Optional Payment Lifetime Mortgage (OPLM) which enables borrowers to make monthly interest payments, and last month, the Income Lifetime Mortgage, giving customers the ability to use their housing wealth to provide a regular monthly income.
The lender has also sought to assist UK’s interest-only customers by securing new agreements this year with Virgin Money and NatWest - following earlier tie-ups with Santander and The Co-Operative Bank.
These relationships with major bank brands, as well as a buoyant later life lending market and an increase in understanding of the benefits of retirement lending, have strengthened Legal & General Home Finance’s leading position as the number one lifetime mortgage lender in the UK.2
2018 has seen the growth conditions of strong demand, improving distribution, a number of new products coming to market, plus we have seen later life lending entering the mainstream. Recent figures have shown that new customer activity in the market has nearly doubled since the first half of 2016.3
1 2018 Half Year Results, p.7
2 https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/largest-mortgage-lenders-2017-challengers-and-specialists-lead-the-way/
3 https://www.equityreleasecouncil.com/document-library/equity-release-market-report-autumn-2018/, p.3
The information contained in this press release is intended solely for journalists and should not be relied upon by private investors or any other persons to make financial decisions.
A lifetime mortgage is a loan secured against the client’s home. The amount that can be borrowed depends on a client’s age, the value and suitability of their home and whether they are applying jointly or as an individual. Dependent on the type of lifetime mortage chosen, the client receives a cash lump sum, smaller amounts as and when required, or a regular monthly income. Interest is added to the amount they owe each month, which means we charge interest on the loan plus any interest already added. The lifetime mortgage is usually repaid from the sale of the property when the client(s) dies or leaves the property for long term care. There may be cheaper ways to borrow money.
Steve Ellis, CEO of Legal & General Home Finance says: "£3bn of total lending is a significant milestone. Our mission is simple – to be the mortgage lender of choice for the over 55s in the UK market. This figure not only reflects the robustness of our business: it means we have enabled more customers to access their property wealth, helping them enjoy a better retirement. And helping people have the best retirement they can is what we are all about.However, whilst it has been another record year for the lifetime mortgage market, and we expect customer activity to continue to be strong for the rest of the year, none of us in the retirement lending sector can afford to be complacent. Brexit uncertainty, a muted housing market and the relatively fragile nature of the consumer economy will be hurdles we all need to overcome, but for this market to really reach its full potential we must strive to grow distribution.
The fundamentals of demand for what we do are strong but brokers need to ensure that they have a holistic later life lending offering, and feel confident having these conversations with clients. It is our mission at Legal & General Home Finance to normalise later life lending and support retirees across the UK to enjoy their best retirement. If we can double the number of advisers talking to their clients about lifetime mortgages - and help them to realise the potential of their property wealth - then we really will be well on the way to reaching the goal of making retirement lending mainstream."
Further information
Margrit Williams
Director of External Engagement
Legal & General Capital
Nick Seymour
Rostrum Agency
T: 020 7440 8670
Notes to editors
Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK's leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with £1.2 trillion in total assets under management1 of which 40% is international. We have a unique and highly synergistic business model, which continues to drive strong returns. Legal & General provides powerful asset origination and management capabilities directly to clients, which also underpin our leading retirement and protection solutions. We are a leading international player in Pension Risk Transfer, in UK and US life insurance, and in UK workplace pensions and retirement income. Our purpose is to improve the lives of our customers and create value for our shareholders. Through inclusive capitalism, we are investing in long-term assets, such as real estate and infrastructure, that can help build a better society for the future.
1Data as at 31 December 2023.