"There are likely to be some delays, so we advise brokers to check the current turnaround times on our website in order to manage client expectations."
Accord says the decision is due to a "short-term capacity issue". The Lynch Wood site, where the majority of the lender’s underwriters are based, has had a small number of colleagues test positive for Covid-19. The office has been deep-cleaned and in line with government guidelines, affected colleagues have been asked to self-isolate.
As a result, Accord will be temporarily working with a reduced number of underwriters.
The products will be removed at 8pm tonight.
Jeremy Duncombe, Accord’s managing director, said: “Our priority has always been the health and wellbeing of our colleagues, so we have taken the decision to withdraw products at 75% and 80% LTV to ensure service levels can be managed with our reduced capacity.
“Whilst we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact to service, in these exceptional circumstances with less underwriters available, there are likely to be some delays, so we advise brokers to check the current turnaround times on our website in order to manage client expectations.
“We expect this to be a very temporary pause on lending at these tiers and are still accepting applications on all other products within our range.”
