As I write, we’re three weeks into the new year and hopefully everyone has settled back into the routine – the Christmas break certainly seems a long time ago now.
For me personally, it’s been an exciting time, as we’ve just launched our newly merged mortgage club under the Next Intelligence brand. It’s been fantastic getting to know our new members and sharing some of our plans for the coming months.
An uncertain beginning
Merger aside, I think it’s fair to say that it’s been quite a volatile start to 2025 due to the spike in swap rates. This prompted a lot of lenders to pull rates in the first couple of weeks, but now that things have settled down, lenders have been able to re-evaluate and we’re starting to see lower rates emerging to boost the market.
You could say that it has felt like a different year week-on-week this month. As ever, it remains vitally important for lenders to give as much notice as possible of any impending changes so that intermediaries can realistically manage their clients’ expectations.
It’s early days and we can’t put a stamp on the year yet, but the recent series of positive announcements gives reason for continued optimism. It buoys you up when there are interesting developments and new things to talk to your clients about.

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Let’s take a look at some of these now.
Lender updates
Buckinghamshire Building Society announced that it has entered the limited company buy-to-let (BTL) space with a new, dedicated product range to support landlords, expat investors and those with holiday let properties. Rates start at 5.49% for a five-year fixed limited company BTL product up to 80% loan to value (LTV). The limited company holiday let product is available at 5.79% and expat rates at 6.09% up to 75% LTV. The range features a flat product fee of £1,195 and flexible criteria, plus options for day one special purchase vehicles (SPVs) for first-time buyers and first-time landlords.
Suffolk for Intermediaries started the new year by bringing back its standard five-year fixed BTL product as well as the light refurb option. Available for purchase or remortgage up to 80% LTV, it is priced at 5.49% with a maximum loan of £1m and a completion fee of £999. The light refurbishment option is available at 5.59%, also up to 80% LTV. Suffolk for Intermediaries has also lowered some of its two- and five-year products across residential, standard BTL and holiday let with up to 20 basis points (bps) off.
West One is now able to lend on BTL properties in Scotland. Available across the entire Core product range, the lender will accept a variety of property types in mainland Scotland, including standard houses, flats and maisonettes up to 80% LTV, more specialist property types such as above/next to commercial, houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), multi-unit blocks (MUBs) and holiday lets, plus more complex cases including larger HMOs/MUBs or where the applicant is a first-time buyer, expat or foreign national.
Two-year fixed rates start from 2.59% and five-year fixed rates from 4.54%.
Kensington Mortgages was happy to share the news of its BTL Prime Specials for HMOs and MUBs, featuring rates starting from 4.99% and lending available up to 75% LTV. The 4.99% leading rate is available on a five-year fixed up to 75% LTV with a completion fee of 5%. The maximum loan available is £750,000 and is open to borrowers looking to purchase or remortgage in both personal name or via a limited company. The minimum property value for the Prime Specials is £150,000 and the property must be readily saleable as a family home.
BTL launches and criteria changes
ModaMortgages announced new limited-edition two- and five-year fixed rates up to 75% LTV. The two-year products start at 3.74% with a 5.5% product fee and feature free valuation and no application fee. The five-year products start at 5.06% with a 5.5% product fee, also with the free valuation and zero application fee. The maximum loan amount across the range is £2m, with all products available for all landlords and property types.
Roma Finance launched RomaPRO – a BTL term range designed to address the demand for comprehensive property financing. RomaPRO offers loans from £75,000 to £2m in England and Wales up to 75% LTV, enabling investors to transition from purchase and construction to long-term BTL funding. The range can be used in conjunction with Roma’s bridging and development lending or as a standalone BTL solution. It offers variable BTL rates and offers top slicing.
Property types that are accepted include residential, MUBs, HMOs, holiday lets and serviced accommodation.
Metro Bank has increased its maximum loan sizes across its entire BTL range (including limited company) to open up more opportunities for property investors to grow and diversify their portfolios. This criteria change includes an up to £2m loan amount at 75%, up to £2.5m at 70%, up to £3m at 65% and up to £10m at 60%.
That’s all for now. Let’s hope for a continuation of these positive developments into next month.