The Openwork Partnership has added four specialist residential and buy-to-let lenders to its panel.

Foundation Home Loans, Landbay, Pepper Money and Vida Homeloans have recently joined the network, which said it launched a rigorous tender process that looked at all specialist lenders in the industry.

Increasing complexity in the buy-to-let (BTL) market plus the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the residential market has driven demand for lenders able to consider more complicated income and employment histories as well as clients with credit issues, says Openwork.

Foundation Home Loans are the intermediary-only mortgage specialists for owner-occupiers with more complex needs and BTL mortgages for portfolio and non-portfolio landlords, limited companies and individuals, ex-pats, and short term lets.

Landbay focuses on BTL, covering first-time landlords as well as limited companies including special purpose vehicles and trading companies plus LLPs and a wide range of property types.

Pepper Money offers residential and BTL. Its products are aimed at clients who would benefit from a more human underwriting approach including those with complex income, self-employed, short credit histories and previous financial blips or adverse credit that has been registered as recently as six months ago.

Vida Homeloans offers residential and BTL with a focus on impaired and improving credit including CCJs, defaults and missed payments. It also supports specialist properties including former local authority houses, flats, and properties above commercial premises.

The Openwork Partnership proposition director, mortgages and protection, Paul Shearman says: “Our refreshed panel offers the best support from across the industry and our direct panel relationships now account for 96% of all mortgage lending in the UK.

“The four new lenders are fantastic additions to our panel and will enable advisers to help even more clients in the changing mortgage market.”