Digital bank enters shared ownership market

Atom Bank, which began operation last year, is offering up to 95% loan-to-value mortgages on shared ownership properties across the UK, or up to 85% on new build properties, through its Digital Mortgages delivery platform, which launched this week.

It will not offer mortgages on properties purchased through the government’s Help to Buy scheme, however, as this would add “an extra layer of complexity”, said Maria Harris, Atom Bank’s director of retail mortgages.

The bank, which is accessible to customers only through an app, is offering its shared ownership mortgages initially through distribution partnerships with Legal & General and LSL Property Services. 

“[Shared ownership] is one of the biggest things that’s going to fix the issue we’ve got currently around housing availability and affordable housing, and we want to support that,” said Ms Harris. “It’s important for our customers but also for our economy and for stability [of the housing market] going forward.”

“We’ve not had a new lender come into shared ownership for some time, so it really shows confidence in the tenure,” said Amy Nettleton, head of sales and marketing at Aster Group and chair of the National Housing Group. “Having been around for more than 30 years while other tenures have come and gone, shared ownership has proven to be a success. We therefore welcome the move by Atom Bank to support shared ownership alongside more ‘traditional’ forms of tenure.”