Leah Milner

United Trust Bank has secured an investment from private equity firm Warburg Pincus, which will take a minority stake in the lender. Subject to regulatory approval, the agreement will help to fund UTB's expansion and allow it to branch into new product areas. The investment amount has not been disclosed, but it values the bank at around £520m. UTB was formed in 1955 to provide development finance to small and medium-sized housebuilders that were tackling the post-war housing shortage. In 2001 it was bought by Anglo-Dutch bank, Insinger de Beaufort. UTB's current chief executive, Harley Kagan, and deputy chairman, Graham Davin, led that acquisition 23 years ago. Warburg Pincus has invested more than $25bn across 60 companies globally, with a particular focus on specialist banking and lending. Kagan says: “This is an exciting milestone for UTB and an excellent opportunity for our staff, shareholders and for Warburg Pincus. “I am delighted that Warburg Pincus will be joining us as a new partner to help accelerate our growth and provide support and experience as the group heads for a £4bn balance sheet and explores exciting new products and markets in the future. “It just remains for me to say that the growth story over the last 20 years would not have been achievable without the exceptional UTB staff who work carefully every day to build the Bank and deliver outstanding products and services to our customers, and for that we wish to sincerely thank them.” Warburg Pincus managing director Mike Thompson says: “We look forward to working closely with Harley and his team to support the Bank's continued growth and leveraging the expertise of our financial services and capital solutions teams to help the company seize new opportunities in the UK market.”

Halifax is cutting rates on a number of two and five-year fixed rates for home movers and first-time buyers tomorrow. The lender is reducing two-year

Halifax is cutting rates on a number of two and five-year fixed rates for home movers and first-time buyers tomorrow.

Two think tanks have drawn up a blueprint for 12 new towns around England to create 550,000 homes.

London is falling even farther behind housing targets than the rest of England, posing a threat to the government’s promise to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years. That is according to analysis by Savills in an article by its associate director of residential research Paul Wellman. He points out that in

Together has cut rates on its discount tracker deals by 25 basis points. The lender's discount rates track its standard variable rate, which it calls the Together Homeowner Managed rate, for two years. Together has reduced its THMR by 25bps in response to falling mortgage rates and the drop in the Bank of England base rate – meaning its discount rate deals will fall by the same margin. Following the change, its first charge discount rates will now start from 8.8%, down from 9.05%. Second charge rates will now start from 9.49%, down from 9.74%. Head of products Ben James says: “We launched our innovative discounted rate mortgage range to offer flexibility for borrowers who wanted a mortgage where the rate could reduce over the term. “The declining rate environment has meant we have been able to pass this lower cost of borrowing on to our customers. “This most recent reduction means there is now a 30 bps difference between our lowest priced first charge two-year discounted product and our lowest priced first charge two-year fixed product. “With many economists expecting the base rate to continue to decrease in 2025, the reduced rates should offer more choice for customers who may want to benefit from further reductions in the future.”

London is falling even farther behind housing targets than the rest of England, posing a threat to the government’s promise to build 1.5 million homes

Average fixed rates dipped slightly this week as lenders continued to adjust pricing in the run-up to Christmas, according to Moneyfacts' weekly rate watch data.

Average fixed rates dipped slightly this week as lenders continued to adjust pricing in the run-up to Christmas, according to Moneyfacts’ weekly rate

Mortgage lending will grow by 11% next year to reach £260bn driven in part by a large increase in remortgaging, UK Finance forecasts.