Kensington Mortgages has announced its sale to Barclays Bank UK.
The sale follows an auction process that attracted interest from a broad range of bidders.
Barclays is acquiring the business from funds affiliated with Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Sixth Street, which have jointly owned the business since 2015. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
Barclays is acquiring Kensington Mortgage Company Limited (KMC), Kensington Mortgage Services Limited (KMS) and a portfolio of UK mortgages consisting primarily of mortgages originated by KMC from October 2021 to completion of the acquisition of KMC and KMS.
The business, which is based in Maidenhead and has around 600 employees, services approximately £8.7 billion of third party and related party mortgages in addition to the KMC Mortgage Portfolio. Kensington originated approximately £1.9 billion of mortgages in the year ended 31 March 2022. The business has grown its originations at a compound annual growth rate of 22% since the acquisition in 2015.
Mark Arnold, CEO of Kensington Mortgages, said: “This sale marks the start of an exciting new chapter of growth for Kensington. We have a strong track-record in the specialist mortgage space, using our proprietary data and tech platform to innovate and grow, and now is a natural point to bring in a partner who can help us to drive our next expansion phase.
“As a major UK bank with a broad reach and offering, Barclays is well-placed to support this expansion, whilst the sale will allow it to differentiate itself as a ‘mainstream specialist’ and offer a range of mortgage solutions not available from competitors.”
Matt Hammerstein, CEO of Barclays Bank UK PLC, added: “The transaction reinforces our commitment to the UK residential mortgage market and presents an exciting opportunity to broaden our product range and capabilities. KMC is a best-in-class specialist mortgage lender with an established track record in the UK market, strong broker and customer relationships and data analytics capabilities.
“KMC complements our existing UK mortgage business and broker relationships through the addition of a specialist prime mortgage originator and the utilisation of our strong UK funding base. We look forward to KMC management and employees becoming part of the Barclays group.”