Building society announces sale of £220m mortgage portfolio

Skipton Building Society has agreed to sell its £220m portfolio of mortgage loans.

Owned by its subsidiaries Amber Homeloans and North Yorkshire Mortgages, the portfolio is now being sold to an affiliate of a fund managed by an unnamed global investment management firm.

The portfolio consists of around 1,600 UK mortgages, and Computershare will continue to service the loans after their sale.

Skipton said that the sale is designed to reduce the group’s exposure to recent non-performing mortgages.

Amber and NYM ceased lending in 2008.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is due to complete by the end of April 2017, after which affected borrowers will be written to as soon as practicably possible.

David Cutter, Skipton group chief executive, said: “This is a good transaction for our members as it strengthens an already strong balance sheet and allows us to focus on our core target market.”

Morgan Stanley acted as advisor to Skipton Building Society during the sale.