Online lender Perenna has agreed a partnership with software provider Target that will allow the start-up to begin offering mortgages

The deal will see Perenna launch its Mortgage Hub, allowing it to offer decisions in principle within 20 seconds.

Perenna says it will offer a range of flexible 30-year long-term fixed-rate mortgages in the UK, giving borrowers the option of locking in their interest rate for several decades.

It says this means that borrowers “will no longer have to repeatedly refinance to remain on a competitive mortgage deal. They will also benefit from certainty over their mortgage repayments for the lifetime of their loan”.

The lender says it will launch its service “later this year”.

The firm was incorporated in 2013 by chief executive Arjan Verbeek, formerly of BNP Paribas, chief channel officer Hamish Peacocke, also formerly of BNP Paribas, and chief operating officer Colin Bell, formerly of Interbay.

The bank has been going through the process of gaining regulatory approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the FCA.

Perenna Chief Operating Officer Colin Bell says: “Our mortgages offer borrowers better terms than short-term alternatives, which leave them exposed to sudden repayment increases and high refinance costs.”

Target chief commercial officer Stuart Anderson adds: “Our partnership with Perenna will transform the market for the better, providing speed, flexibility and certainty to both intermediaries and consumers – making the process not only more efficient, but more enjoyable too.”

In November, Perenna hired Dan Pass as chief technology officer to work on its launch.

Pass joined from personal loans provider Oplo and has previously worked for secured lender 1st Stop and gambling firm Betfred.