Furness Building Society has launched a market-leading two-year discount rate at 1.49 per cent for borrowers with a 20 per cent deposit.

The new product is a discount of 3.65 percentage points from the lender’s standard variable rate of 5.14 per cent.

It has a £999 fee but comes with free legals and valuations in England and Wales.

Borrowers in Scotland will receive a contribution of £150 towards these costs.

The product has been rated “outstanding” by Moneyfacts, and is available for both purchase and remortgage.

Furness head of intermediaries Alasdair McDonald says: “We believe there are brokers who will have clients that can benefit from this market leading discount. “When the rate is this keen, it is definitely worth a deeper dive into the potential savings for remortgages.

“With our individual approach to underwriting, we can cater for the straightforward cases as well as those that need a closer look and a personal touch. 

“We often help our broker partners to understand their clients’ accounts with self-employed cases and our experienced underwriters will always try to find a way to say yes.

“This market-leading product won’t be around for long so whether you’ve got clients looking to buy a new home or are coming to the end of their existing mortgage deal, make sure you act now.”

Moneyfacts finance expert Eleanor Williams says: “Furness Building Society has made a rate cut of 0.10 per cent on its two-year discounted variable rate deal at 80 per cent loan-to-value. 

“Now priced and collared at 1.49 per cent, this rate reduction has further enhanced the appeal of what was already the lowest rate within its sector. 

“When combined with the reasonable fee of £999 and an incentive package of a free valuation while those remortgaging can also benefit from either free legal fees or £150 towards legal costs, this deal improves on its position and receives an ‘outstanding’ Moneyfacts product rating.”