Starling Bank subsidiary Fleet Mortgages reports 58% rise in lending

Specialist buy-to-let mortgage lender Fleet Mortgages saw its 2022 lending jump by over 50 per cent with the total value reaching £1.2bn during the calendar year.

That figure is up from the previous year’s £782m and marks the first full year of results since Fleet was acquired by Starling Bank in 2021.

During the year Fleet reported an average loan amount “just shy of £215k” while over two-thirds of its lending applications now come from portfolio landlords who are buying investment properties through special purpose vehicle limited companies.

Since its acquisition by Starling, Fleet’s headcount has also grown by 58 to reach 170 employees at the end of December 2022.

The lender also opened a new satellite office in Cardiff that specifically focuses on its loan underwriting.

“The support we have received from Starling remains top-class and it allows us to enter the new year full of ambition to continue lending to a part of the market we believe will continue to thrive, namely professional and portfolio landlords who are invested in the private rental sector for the long term,” said Steve Cox, chief commercial officer at Fleet Mortgages.

“Fleet remains absolutely committed to this market, and we believe the fundamentals of the private rental sector remain strong, particularly the high level of tenant demand that continues to exist against a backdrop of low supply.”

Last week Starling CEO Anne Boden reported in her annual letter to customers that the neobank expects to quadruple its profits in 2023, with its total lending portfolio reaching £4.7bn at the end of 2022.

Boden said the bank saw annualised pre-tax profits of more than £250m and annualised revenue of almost £600m in December 2022, with total deposits hitting £10.7bn at the end of the year.