Nationwide’s profits hit by buy-to-let fall

PROFITS at Nationwide slipped after a slump in buy-to-let mortgages.

Landlords have been hammered by increased stamp duty and cuts to mortgage tax relief as ministers try to trim the lettings market so more homes are available for first-time buyers.

But the drop in demand for rental properties triggered a profit slide at Britain’s biggest building society to £886m in the last nine months of 2017 – down 6pc on a year earlier.

Chief executive Joe Garner said: ‘A subdued buy-to-let mortgage market, plus sustained competition, slowed the pace of growth in our mortgage book.’

The 48-year-old added that the pay squeeze triggered by inflation rising above wage growth had also taken a toll. However, he said he expects the economy to continue growing and added that the society is likely to report strong lending performance for the three months to March 31.

It comes after a jump in the number of landlords struggling to repay buy-to-let mortgages. There were 5,100 which were more than 2.5pc behind on payments in the last three months of 2017, up 100 on the previous quarter.