Society returns to low deposit mortgage market

FIRST-TIME BUYERS with just a five per cent deposit will get a boost as a building society relaunches into this lending bracket.

Accord Mortgages, an intermediary arm of Yorkshire Building Society, will launch the loans from today, after all but a handful of five per cent deposit deals vanished from the market in 2020 as providers became more cautious about “risker” lending.

According to financial information website Moneyfacts.co.uk, there are just five of the deals available, excluding Accord’s new offering.

This is a miniscule figure compared with the 391 options to choose from back in March 2020, before the full shock of the coronavirus crisis was felt.

The new mortgage has a five-year fixed rate of 3.99 per cent and has a £995 fee and free standard valuation.

EVENT VENUES hard hit by the pandemic are being invited to take part in a free summit designed to help businesses restart when restrictions are lifted.

Hosted by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Historic Houses and venue management start-up Hostology, the Reset, Reopen and Recover Summit, will feature a number of sessions focused on reopening and recovery.

Historic Houses’ Director General, Ben Cowell, said: “The last 12 months have been devastating for events venues. But the industry looks set to bounce back just as soon as the Government Roadmap allows. Reset, Reopen, Recover is perfectly timed to provide insight, ideas and inspiration for everyone involved in hosting and running events.”

CLA Director General Sarah Hendry highlighted how difficult the pandemic had been for the wedding sector, an industry which generated around £14.7bn for the UK economy in 2019 and which is expected to see losses of more than £7bn due to the pandemic.

“The summit is a fantastic opportunity for wedding businesses to understand the issues involved and be ready to reopen with greater confidence.”

Held over four days broken up into two day sessions on March 17-18 and 24-25, the Summit will feature practical and strategic sessions, along with one to one expert surgeries for venues needing specific advice.

Open to all events businesses, speakers include Olympian and author of The Long Win, Dr Catherine Bishop, Emma Hla from Coco Wedding Venues and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.