Nationwide has expanded its interest-only offering to include purchase deals at up to 60 per cent LTV.

As with the interest-only options for remortgages that were relaunched in April this year, the purchase interest-only mortgages will be available only through brokers.

Borrowers will need a minimum equity of £300,000 in London, £250,000 in the South East and £200,000 elsewhere in the UK.

They will also need a minimum income of £75,000 for sole applications and £100,000 for joint applications. The maximum term is 25 years or retirement age if sooner, and rates start at 1.24 per cent.

Nationwide director of mortgages Henry Jordan comments: “As the UK’s second largest lender, it is natural that we continue to look at ways we can support the mortgage market, including the products we make available through brokers and we hope to expand our range further in the near future.”

London Money director Martin Stewart says: “It is no secret that the sector has been battered over recent months, with many lenders withdrawing or altering their criteria as we all fought to acclimatise to the impacts of the pandemic.

“For a lender to now announce something very positive such as this is great news for the broking community.”

And Alexander Hall director of lender relationships and new homes Greg Cunnington adds: “Interest-only mortgages are a great option for some clients and are a core part of the holistic advice discussion for intermediaries, so this was a great show of support to the intermediary market from Nationwide.”