High street banks and building societies will increasingly dominate the buy-to-let marketplace, said Mortgages for Business.

The buy-to-let market has for many years been dominated by securitised lenders with funds borrowed from the money markets and niche brands owned by the larger financials institutions. However, the global credit crunch has led to funding difficulties for the securitised lenders and limited funding for niche brands from their parent organisations.

Jonathan Moore, head of marketing at Mortgages for Business, said: “Many securitised mortgage lenders have as yet not been able to re-enter the marketplace as funding is sparse and too expensively priced. Meanwhile, many niche brands are receiving smaller tranches of funding from their parent companies as a result of liquidity concerns.”

Banks and building societies that have recently come to the fore with their product offerings include Alliance & Leicester, Cheltenham & Gloucester, Woolwich and Natwest.

Specialist products are still part of the market however they are becoming less available. Investors will need to choose their broker carefully and ask the right questions should they wish to obtain the very best products available”, concluded Moore.