Barclays Wealth & Investments has introduced a new mortgage proposition aimed at UK entrepreneurs and founders of high growth businesses.
Designed to help successful entrepreneurs get on to the housing ladder, the new mortgage offering from Barclays will help to address a current issue faced by many entrepreneurs, where current salary earnings do not reflect their ability to repay a mortgage, and with traditional lending capped at five times salary.
Barclays will now consider cash-flow from an entrepreneurs’ business and investment income, as well as their monthly salary, when determining eligibility. Subject to meeting appropriate risk criteria, Barclays will also lend up to five times their total combined income.
The lender will also consider applications from entrepreneurs with two years trading accounts whereas some other banks require three, therefore excluding a range of fast growing businesses.
Dena Brumpton, chief executive of Barclays Wealth & Investments, said: “We recognise the sacrifices that entrepreneurs make in order to create the wealth, employment and successful businesses of the future. But to date far too many have either been declined a mortgage that they can afford to repay, or have had to pay significantly higher rates with secondary lenders.
“Many entrepreneurs are focused on the immediate growth of their business, choosing not to take a large salary during the early stages. However, they may also have other forms of income or cash-flow that mean they are able to repay a mortgage for the home they really want.
Raheel Ahmed, head of Barclays Mortgages, added: “We are here to help and support our clients move forward and believe we’re uniquely placed to help entrepreneurs by offering end to end services from business banking to mortgages to wealth management. With the creation of wealth increasingly coming from entrepreneurs, we should be making it easier for them to buy a home and that is why we have worked with our Wealth business to develop an entirely new form of personalised mortgage proposition.”