Legal & General has today (5 February) announced that lifetime mortgage lending reached £201m in 2015.
The provider hit its £200m 2015 target for lifetime mortgages with £99m of lending in its fourth quarter of the year.
In April 2015, Legal & General completed its acquisition of New Life Home Finance Limited and has since rebranded it as Legal & General Home Finance.
Alongside this it has launched an extended product range and enhanced the operational capability to deliver higher volumes.
In the final quarter of 2015, the £99m of lending gave Legal & General a 22 per cent market share, demonstrating the progress from a 1 per cent market share in the first quarter of 2015 immediately prior to acquisition.
Recently, the Equity Release Council announced lifetime mortgage lending reached a new record high in 2015, at £1.6bn, up 16 per cent on the prior year.
The number of people aged 60-years-old or more is expected to grow by 6.3 million in the next 20 years, coupled with an estimated £1.3 trillion of housing equity currently owned by this age group in the UK, makes the long-term growth characteristics of this market very strong, according to industry commentators.
Bernie Hickman, chief executive at Legal & General Home Finance, said: “The market has experienced 20 per cent compound annual growth since 2011, and an ageing population adds further potential growth in years to come.
“With funding from our annuity portfolio we have been able to offer customers competitive interest rates and great product features, which in turn make lifetime mortgages even more attractive for customers wanting to release equity without moving from their homes.
“Lifetime mortgages further diversify our high quality annuity asset portfolio as we increase our exposure to direct investments.”
Dean Mirfin, technical director at Key Retirement, said: “From day one Legal & General have been committed to reaching this landmark for new business.
“It shows that focus on design and pricing have paid off for them, benefiting not just themselves but brokers and consumers.”
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
