Vernon Building Society has joined the lending panel of Connect Mortgages’ broker network.

Its intermediary members will now have access to the mutual’s range of mortgage products, including residential lending, self-build and later life, as well as buy to let and holiday let options.

The building society has a focus on underserved markets and underwriting complex cases, to help widen homeownership.

Vernon Building Society head of mortgage and savings distribution Brendan Crowshaw says: “We have real people individually assessing and underwriting each mortgage so we can say ‘yes’ to borrowers who would otherwise find themselves excluded from mainstream lending.

“It means we receive a number of ‘off-panel’ applications, which happened recently with Connect, so we contacted the firm about working together.

Crowshaw adds that the network’s “mortgage specialisms complement what we’re able to provide, and it makes sense”.