The Intermediary – August 2025 - Flipbook - Page 33
Q&A
often juggling separate documents
and assumptions.
Now, the society appears directly
in brokers’ sourcing results, making
comparisons much easier.
The change has opened doors.
It’s improved visibility among
existing partners and attracted
enquiries from brokers who’ve
never previously placed holiday let
business with us, despite our 20-year
track record in the sector.
The result is a more diverse
pipeline and stronger recognition
of a product suite that was already
highly competitive.
Ease of access is one benefit,
but what’s really resonated with
brokers is the depth of our collective
understanding.
The team has long supported
holiday let borrowers through
regulatory shifts and licensing
requirements. That consistency
and staying in the market when
others paused or exited hasn’t
gone unnoticed.
What do brokers need
to know about The
Cumberland’s regional
lending focus, and does
that apply for holiday let?
Regionally,
egionally, in relation to our
esidential owner-occupied
residential
oposition, The Cumberland
proposition,
ontinues to prioritise
continues
elationships
strong relationships
oss its operating area,
across
which includes Cumbria,
Lancashire, parts of North
orkshire and Scotland.
Yorkshire
These are markets that
the team understands
deeply.
Wee will be
onsidering
considering
xpanding
expanding
our
esidential
residential
proposition in time; however, we
are also mindful of not diluting
the first-class service we offer our
intermediary partners.
That said, the holiday let
proposition has always been
national. Whether the property is
in Cornwall, Norfolk or the Welsh
coast, we lend up to 75% loan-tovalue (LTV) and support a range of
ownership structures, including
limited companies.
What makes The
Cumberland’s holiday let
proposition stand out?
There are plenty of features that
brokers consistently highlight.
We manually underwrite cases
which allows us to be flexible in
our approach. We lend to limited
companies without the requirement
of a personal guarantee in most
cases. Some of our other niche areas
include up to three units on one title,
we lend up to the oldest applicant’s
86th birthday, and we provide
lending for holiday let properties on
mainland UK, including the isles of
Anglesey, Arran, Isle of Wight and
Isles of Mull, Skye & Harris.
Second is the society’s support
for portfolio landlords. Up to six
mortgaged holida
holiday lets can be held
with The Cumberland under our
intermediary pr
proposition, with
cases above that rreferred to the
commercial team. Betw
Between the two
teams, borrower
borrowers can be supported
pr
across up to 20 properties,
giving
room for growth and scale.
And finally, a quick but important
detail: there ar
are no application fees
for product transf
transfers. That might
sound small, but it’
it’s a meaningful
cost-saving for existing borrowers
looking to sta
stay with the
lender
lender, and reflects our
broader approach to
fairness and long
long-term
relationships. ●
LISA HODGSON
Intermediary roll-out
and digital evolution
2021: The intermediary
lending team is established
A dedicated team of relationship
managers was created to drive
broker–focused lending and
uphold The Cumberland’s ‘Kinder
Banking’ purpose.
January 2024: Working
with sourcing platforms
The Cumberland began working
with Twenty7tec, Mortgage Brain
and Iress Trigold to raise visibility
among brokers and increase the
reach of its distribution.
September 2024:
Mortgage affordability
calculator launches online
A broker-facing affordability
calculator was launched on The
Cumberland’s website, enabling
real-time eligibility checks and
reducing average processing times
by up to two days. It earned high
adviser ratings for usability.
October 2024:
Broker portal launch
In late October, The Cumberland
launched a comprehensive
intermediary portal in partnership
with fintech firm Mast.
The platform supports the
full mortgage lifecycle from
enquiry through to application
and completion – automating
administrative tasks like
document uploads and enhancing
turnaround efficiency.
Early 2025: Growing the
network partnerships
The Cumberland actively expanded
distribution through directly
authorised (DA) and appointed
representative (AR) relationships,
as well as partnerships with
networks like Sesame, Mortgage
Advice Bureau (MAB) and Quilter
Financial Planning.
August 2025: Partnership with
Paradigm Mortgage Services
The Cumberland secured its first
mortgage club partnership with
Paradigm, making its specialist
holiday let products available to
Paradigm member brokers.
