Accord Mortgages is Yorkshire's intermediary lending subsidiary and buy-to-let will join the existing range of products currently available, however, Accord's primary focus will remain on prime residential lending.
The launch represents a measured move into the sector and products will be available through selected lending partners, initially for properties in London and the South East of England, with plans to broaden the geographical availability later in the year.
It will include a brief trial period through two lending partners before the products are rolled out to the rest of the Yorkshire's selected distribution panel. By staging its entry into the market, it will allow the Society to test its systems with relatively low volumes of business ensuring a good service to broker partners is maintained.
The Yorkshire currently has an existing buy-to-let book through its merger with Chelsea Building Society and this move represents its first steps into new lending in this market.
Commenting on the launch, Yorkshire's Head of Buy-to-Let, Jeremy Law said:
"As a financially strong independent mutual, our primary focus is, and always will be, the interests of our members. We will approach buy-to-let mortgages as we would with any other home loan, as a responsible and prudent lender.
"Initially, we plan to offer products for properties located in London and the South East to ensure a manageable entry into the market. However, we hope that we may be able to extend our geographical spread later in the year once we have our operation up and running."
