Lloyds Launches £5,000 Deposit Mortgage Up to £300,000

Lloyds Banking Group, Britain's largest mortgage lender, has launched a new product enabling first-time buyers to purchase properties worth up to 300,000 pounds with a minimum deposit of 5,000 pounds, equivalent to a 98 percent loan-to-value ratio. The five-year fixed-rate mortgage, set at 5.89 percent with no fees, becomes available through Lloyds Bank, Halifax and brokers starting May 18.

The initiative targets renters facing high monthly housing costs who can afford repayments but struggle to save large deposits without family help. Lloyds anticipates it will generate 500 million pounds in additional lending to first-time buyers over the next year. Borrowers can secure loans up to 4.5 times their income over terms of up to 40 years, subject to strict affordability and credit checks. It excludes new builds, shared ownership schemes and gifted deposits, and applies UK-wide to employed and self-employed applicants.

This move follows recent mortgage rate cuts by major lenders amid intensifying competition and expectations of further Bank of England base rate reductions. Saving for a deposit remains the biggest barrier, with 64 percent of aspiring buyers citing it as the hardest...