YBS Commercial Mortgages, the commercial lending arm of Yorkshire Building Society, reported a 50% increase in loans to commercial and professional landlords in 2022, amounting to £0.6bn compared to £0.3bn the previous year.
The figures, published in the Yorkshire Building Society’s Annual Report and Accounts, show that the total value of YBS Commercial Mortgages’ customer base exceeded £1.5bn for the first time.
Demand for private rented housing is on the rise, but landlords face challenges such as funding availability, affordability, and new regulations related to taxation and energy efficiency.
YBS Commercial Mortgages provided £413.2m in support to the private rental sector in 2022, focusing on key concerns like fire safety and property conditions.
The lender also supported other sectors, including industrial and retail properties and the leisure industry, with a total of £115.7m provided across commercial investment lending in 2022.
YBS Commercial Mortgages recently launched a fixed-rate commercial investment product to support economic growth and provide an alternative funding source for those looking to acquire commercial property.
The lender’s regional lending activity breakdown reveals that the London and South-East team handled £260.9m, while the Midlands team managed £127.6m. The Wales and South-West team completed £77.6m, and the North team took £43.1m.
YBS Commercial attributes its success to improvements in propositional and pipeline efficiency, criteria changes for product accessibility, and reduced processing times.
The lender also focuses on recruiting and strengthening regional teams to ensure the availability of its relationship directors.
Tom Simpson, managing director for YBS Commercial Mortgages, said: “2022 was a real turning point for us in terms of realising our ambitions to help more landlords and small businesses to thrive in a challenging market.
“And with 90% of customers and brokers rating our relationship directors as very effective, I’m absolutely delighted with the long-term, stable funding we’ve been able to provide to the commercial market to date through our regional hubs, which sit at the heart of our business.
“We have plans to deliver even more this year and beyond, with more than £0.75bn available in funding, allowing us to support more clients who need us, with a continued focus on providing our award-winning personal service.
“In 2023 we’re focused on product development and analytics to determine further market opportunities, broker and client support, and customer journey improvements. It’s a very exciting time for us as a business.”
