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Inheritance tax receipts hit £0.8bn in April, up £97m on the same period a year ago, HMRC data shows.   The tax body says rises in the tax since March 2022 are due to a combination of more wealth transfers following “recent liable deaths”, rising property prices, and freezes on tax-free thresholds.  Inheritance tax is set to hit a record £9.1bn in 2025/26, according to the last Office for Budget Responsibility forecast made at the Spring Statement, with this figure set to rise to more than £14bn by the end of the decade.  Inheritance tax is not liable on estates worth less than £325,000, but after this, the standard rate above this threshold is 40%, although there are exemptions and reliefs for businesses and gifting.  Just Group director Stephen Lowe says: “The Treasury has enjoyed four years on the trot of record inheritance tax receipts and this April’s figures show a rapid start to 2025/26 with the tax raising over three-quarters of a billion pounds this month alone.”  Quilter tax and financial planning expert Shaun Moore adds: “Inheritance tax receipts for April stood at £0.8bn, which is £97m higher than last year, continuing the steady upward trend seen over recent years.   “With property prices remaining high and nil-rate bands still frozen until 2030, more families are being caught by inheritance tax, many without realising until it’s too late. “Upcoming changes to business and agricultural relief from 2026, and the inclusion of unused pensions in estates from 2027, mean this trend is unlikely to reverse any time soon.   “For those who are worried about inheritance tax, gifting remains the best defence against it, but this should be weighed against your own needs.” The post IHT levies hit £0.8bn in April: HMRC   appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

House buyers paid £1.3bn in Stamp Duty in April, a £102m decrease from March, according to the latest HMRC data. April was the first month since the nil-rate thresholds dropped from £250,000 to £125,000. However, April was still the second highest month for stamp duty receipts this year, with buyers paying £848m and £1.1bn in January and February respectively. With the nil-rate threshold now halved, individual tax bills have climbed – with the bill on average priced home rising from £2,282 to £4,782. The current thresholds are equivalent to those introduced in 2014, when the average home in England cost £191,986. House prices have risen by more than 50% since then, but thresholds have stayed frozen – meaning far more buyers are going to be dragged into higher tax bands. In total, so far this year homebuyers have paid £4.6bn in property tax. Commenting on the latest figures, Coventry Building Society  head of intermediary relationships Jonathan Stinton said: “March saw a rush of buyers racing to complete before the threshold changes, yet in April buyers still paid a staggering amount in property tax. “Some of this could be from a lag of payments, but it also shows how much buyers are being squeezed, which brings a worry of long-term strain on the market.” He added: “When you’re juggling deposits, legal fees and moving costs, adding thousands of pounds in tax can push a move out of reach. It risks freezing people out of the market altogether – especially in higher priced areas where even modest homes now carry a hefty tax bill. “For many, moving isn’t just about a new address – it’s tied to bigger life steps like starting a family, downsizing in retirement or getting closer to schools and support networks. When those plans get delayed, it doesn’t just affect individuals – it risks the whole market slowing down.” The post April stamp duty receipts down on previous month: HMRC appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Valouran has grown its senior team with the appointments of Richard Shaw, Richard Luffingham, Derek Mackenzie, Dani Charleson-Gallacher and Sarah Campbell. Shaw joins as managing director, head of development and brings with him more than 35 years of experience in the residential and commercial property sectors. In his new role, Shaw will be overseeing the company’s development portfolio. Luffingham has been brought in to take on the role of development director, with previous experience in residential and mixed-use development. He will help to drive planning, placemaking, development and construction across Volouran’s project pipeline. Meanwhile, MacKenzie will take on the position of commercial director and brings with him over 25 years of experience in quantity surveying and commercial management. MacKenzie will be responsible for commercial management and cost-control of large-scale redevelopment projects. Appointed as senior design manager, Charleson-Gallacher joins after almost 20 years at Merlin Entertainments as head of projects. Her previous hospitality design will help in overseeing the same aspects across Valouran’s hotel portfolio. Finally, Campbell has been named marketing director with brings with her a decade of strategic marketing experience across multiple sectors. In her new position, she will lead the company’s strategic marketing direction, overseeing media planning and multi-channel marketing campaigns to strengthen the company’s market presence. Valouran co-founder Matthew Robertson says: “Having launched Valouran in 2023, we have now reached a pivotal juncture, with a growing pipeline of projects, that requires us to expand our best-in-class team.” “We are honoured to welcome such a talented group of individuals. Their expertise in successfully delivering landmark projects gives us every confidence that they will uphold the calibre and high standard of work that we deliver at Valouran.” The post Valouran expands senior team with five appointments appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Mortgage Advice Bureau said that home loan completions were “particularly strong” in the first three months of the year, while it grew adviser numbers by 3% at the start at 2025. “Mortgage completions were particularly strong in the first quarter, boosted by the pull-forward of some property transactions ahead of the 31 March 2025 changes to stamp duty relief,” said the broker network’s chair Mike Jones at its annual meeting.  Jones added: “Purchase activity remains stronger year on year, underpinned by improving buyer affordability and an increased supply of new properties coming onto the market.   “If mortgage rates remain stable or decline further, we expect purchase activity in 2025 to continue to outperform 2024.  “Refinancing is expected to accelerate in the second half of 2025 and into 2026, as a significant number of five-year fixed mortgages from the post-pandemic boom, and two-year fixed deals taken out following the 2022 mini-Budget reach maturity.”  The network said its number of mainstream advisers at 16 May had grown 3% since the end of the year to 2,003.   It pointed out that as the housing and mortgage markets show signs of recovery, “we are seeing increased confidence among appointed representatives, with more advisers joining and momentum in newly appointed representative firm recruitment”.    Jones added: “The increased mortgage activity seen through the latter part of 2024 has continued into 2025. The cost of borrowing and mortgage rates have continued to decline from recent highs, with further cuts to the Bank of England’s base rate expected this year.”  The Bank has made two quarter-point reductions this year, bringing the base rate to 4.25%.  Money markets are currently betting on just one further cut this year after higher-than-expected inflation coming in at 3.5% today.  The post MAB says completions ‘strong’ in Q1, advisers rise 3%      appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Tim Sorrell has been appointed Key Account Manager for TMA Club. He was previously with Perenna Bank, where he managed key distributor relationships. Sorrell has also run his own brokerage, providing whole-of-market mortgage advice for his customers. TMA head of sales Sarah Evans said: “I am delighted to welcome Tim to the team. He is an accomplished key account manager, business development professional, and broker with a proven track record of exceeding business growth aspirations.” She added: “Tim’s breadth of experience, having worked as a broker and in a lender, gives him a unique insight into the challenges and opportunities brokers face and how lenders might support them. He will be a real asset to TMA and I look forward to growing the business with him in the future.” The post TMA appoints Sorrell key account manager appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Marsden Building Society has introduced a distribution team working alongside its lending department. The distribution team, which will compromise new hires and internal appointments, will be led by product manager Katie Broome. Broome brings extensive experience to the role, having worked within financial services for 14 years, including 10 years at Marsden Building Society. In addition, three business development advisors have been appointed, consisting of two new hires and one internal promotion, to provide virtual and face-to-face service for intermediaries. Commenting on the new team, Broome says: “Building relationships and providing excellent service are at the core of everything we do. This year, we’ve taken a significant step forward in our plans to expand our services with the establishment of our new Distribution team.” “Through the appointment of three new business development advisors, we can offer our intermediary partners a key point of contact.” Earlier this year in March, Marsden Building Society launched a 95% LTV residential mortgage at 4.99% The post Marsden BS introduces distribution team led by Broome appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Specialist property valuation firm VAS Assurance has changed its name to Validate.  The business, part of VAS Valuation Group, provides desktop valuations and auditing services aimed at specialist lenders and challenger banks. The firm says its key Validate Desktop+ product “sits between” an automated valuation model and a fully-inspected Rics red book valuation report. The product “provides an option to lenders when they do not want to use an automated valuation model, but for speed or flexibility, they want to utilise the firm’s internal valuers’ expertise”. The firm will continue to be led by founder Stephen Todd.  Todd says: “Originally founded as Valuation Audit Services, where the name VAS comes from, it then became known as VAS Audit and most recently VAS Assurance.  “The VAS Assurance business has evolved over the last decade, in line with the expansion of our services. “At the same time, we have seen tremendous growth in the VAS Panel business, which has undergone various rebrands itself.  “This move will now also allow us to rename the VAS Panel business to simply VAS.” The post VAS Assurance rebrands as Validate  appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

The pace of the Bank of England’s base rate cuts has been “too rapid” given the pressures on inflation, said the central bank’s chief economist. “My starting point is that the pace of Bank Rate reduction should be ‘cautious’, running slower than the 25 basis points per quarter we have implemented since last August,” Huw Pill (pictured) pointed out, who is also a member of the BoE’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee. The MPC voted to cut the base rate by a quarter point to 4.25% earlier this month in a three-way split that saw Swati Dhingra and Alan Taylor press for a larger half-point reduction, while Catherine L Mann and Huw Pill urged hold. The move was the committee’s fourth rate reduction since August. Rate-setters began reducing the base rate “slightly too early” last year, and now the economy’s “disinflationary momentum has shown signs of stuttering,” said Pill at a conference hosted by Barclays in London this morning. Inflation is set to jump to around 3.5% from 2.6%, as a range of index-linked bills and taxes take effect, when official cost-of-living data is released on Wednesday. The rise is expected to come from a range of factors spanning higher energy, water and  council tax bills, to uplifts in National Living Wage and employer National Insurance Contributions. Pill said: “I am concerned about the potential inflationary impact of structural changes in price and wage setting behaviour, following the experience of prolonged, well above-target inflation in recent years.” He added: “As long as disinflation back to target is not complete, maintenance of some restriction will still be required. “On my reading, that is a view that is held across a broad swathe of MPC members.” The Bank’s May forecast lifted its outlook for the UK economy to grow by 1% this year, marking an upgrade from the 0.75% growth predicted in its February report. Money markets expect between two and three further cuts this year to boost a subdued economy that faces tariff uncertainties. However, many economists predict that the Monetary Policy Committee may pause rate reductions at its next 19 June meeting to gauge how hot prices are running across the economy. The post Rate cut pace ‘too rapid’: BoE Pill appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Gable Mortgages has launched two 0% deposit five-year deals for first or next-time buyers wishing to purchase a home. The mortgage product is aimed at ‘Generation Rent’ customers who can manage their rent but find it hard to save for a deposit to buy a home. The lender has two products available. These include a standard five-year fixed that has a rate of 5.95% and a new build five-year fixed with a rate of 5.65% Both have a minimum loan of £125,000 and a maximum loan of £1m. Meanwhile, the maximum loan-to-income rate for standard customers is 4.49 times income but rises up to 5 times for key workers, 5.5 times for joint key workers and 4.5 times for self-employed. This follows April Mortgages’ announcement last week on the launch of a long-term 100% LTV home loan. April’s No Deposit Mortgage is available at up to 4.49 times income on 10- and 15-year fixed terms. It comes with no early repayment charges for moving and redeeming or redeeming from the borrower’s own funds. With two lenders launching 100% LTV products within a week of each other, John Charcol mortgage technical manager Nicholas Mendes says: “It shows lenders are starting to respond to the challenges faced by aspiring homeowners who are mortgage-ready in every way except for the deposit.” “Zero deposit mortgages can play an important role for renters who have strong, stable incomes and good credit histories, but have been unable to save due to the high cost of living.” “The fact that Gable’s deal is linked specifically to new-build homes also supports government efforts to encourage take-up in that sector and stimulate supply.” “One of the key strengths of this deal is the five-year fixed rate, which gives buyers certainty over their monthly repayments at a time when interest rate movements remain uncertain.” “That stability is hugely valuable for households trying to budget long term. Unlike the 100 per cent mortgages of the past, which were often seen as risky and too widely accessible, today’s versions are far more targeted and subject to robust affordability checks, which helps mitigate some of the risk.” “That said, there are still important considerations. Starting with no equity means buyers are more vulnerable to house price movements and may need to stay in the property for longer in order to build up enough equity to remortgage or move.” “With both Gable and April now entering this space, there is every chance that other lenders will follow. Increased competition could lead to better pricing, more innovation and a wider range of options for first-time buyers.” “The demand is clearly there, and as lenders compete more aggressively at the entry level of the market, it is likely we will see more low or no deposit offerings appear in the months ahead.” The post Gable Mortgages launches 0% deposit five-year deals appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.

Gen H has introduced higher loan-to-value (LTV) lending on new build properties.  The lender says the criteria update can be combined with its other boost products including its income booster, which increases how much a customer may be able to borrow.  Gen H chief commercial officer Pete Dockar says: “New build lending has always been a bit of a paradox. We need new build homes to ease the housing crisis, but lenders tend to apply extra scrutiny and limits to this type of lending, which means comparatively fewer aspiring homeowners can actually access the lending they need to buy one.” “Making it easier for new build buyers to get the mortgage they need stimulates demand which in turn creates more supply – this will have a positive impact on the entire housing market. Most critically, it will get keys in the hands of real people.” Last week, Gen H announced the promotion of Graham McClelland to chief executive officer, succeeding co-founder Will Rice.  Rice will remain on the board of directors as a non-executive director to support Gen H. The post Gen H launches 90% LTV lending for new builds appeared first on Mortgage Strategy.