Skipton International has extended its UK buy-to-let mortgages to foreign nationals based abroad.

Skipton previously only offered its UK buy-to-let mortgages to British expatriates but its decision to offer its products to overseas nationals is designed to increase its customer base, and strengthen its position as a mortgage provider.

Applications will be restricted to clients living in Skipton Internationals’ approved list of countries.

To qualify, borrowers will need to have a UK bank account in place to service the mortgage repayments and collect rental income.

Skipton’s decision to offer mortgages to foreign nationals is the latest in a range of changes by the lender.

Skipton International, which launched its expatriate mortgage in Scotland last year, recently extended the terms of its mortgage proposition to include studio apartments valued at £250,000 and above.

Roger Hughes, business development manager at Skipton International, commented: “This is tremendous news for Skipton International. We have been continually refining our UK buy-to-let offering and will continue to search out ways in which we can make our products more readily available and inclusive.

“This development considerably widens the pool of clients to whom we can now offer lending and makes us one of the most competitive players in the UK buy-to-let market for overseas residents as there are only a few lenders that can offer UK buy-to-let mortgages to non-UK nationals.

“Growing our expat mortgage business will continue to remain a strong focus for Skipton International.”