With around 100 mortgage lenders in the UK, working out which one to approach is genuinely difficult, and the best-known names are not always the ones most likely to say yes.
The short answer is that the right mortgage provider depends on your circumstances rather than its reputation. The mortgage lender advertising the lowest mortgage rate may decline you, while other lenders, including a smaller building society you have never heard of, may be perfectly comfortable with your circumstances. Finding the right lender matters more than recognising the name. YesCanDo Money are a fee-free, family-run mortgage broker with access to the whole of the market, and our mortgage advisers know how each mortgage lender assesses an application before you make one.
Below, we reveal the best mortgage lenders in the UK, as rated by our own mortgage advisers. We’ll also compare how quickly each lender works, look at the UK’s largest mortgage lenders, and explain how to compare mortgage deals properly.
Get free mortgage advice, or call us on 033 0088 4407.
The best mortgage lenders as voted by our advisers
We asked our mortgage advisers to rank the lenders they most like working with, based on their experience with real cases. They considered lending criteria, affordability, flexibility and how straightforward each lender is to deal with. These are the top five from the votes counted so far.
1. Halifax
Halifax came out on top, receiving the highest overall score and the most first-place support. Our advisers particularly value its flexible lending criteria, including its approach to self-employed and contract workers, as well as the range of property types it will consider. One adviser summed Halifax up simply as “flexible”.
2. Accord Mortgages
Accord takes second place, with its approach to more individual or less straightforward cases standing out. Our advisers repeatedly highlighted its flexibility and “common-sense approach”, rather than looking at every mortgage application as simply black and white.
3. NatWest
NatWest takes third place, with affordability and straightforward criteria among the main reasons our advisers rate it highly. Advisers highlighted its ability to consider a broad range of income and described its lending approach as “straightforward and real-life”.
4. Nationwide
Nationwide was rated highly for affordability and the options it offers borrowers who may need to stretch their borrowing. Our advisers highlighted its potential for higher income multiples, as well as cashback and its Helping Hand scheme for eligible first-time buyers. Good mortgage rates were also mentioned as a reason for choosing Nationwide.
5. HSBC
HSBC also featured among our advisers’ favourites, with its mortgage rates and approach to different types of applicants standing out. In particular, our advisers highlighted HSBC as a good option for some foreign national applicants and for considering limited company income.
These results reflect the votes received so far and will be updated once every adviser has submitted their choices.
The fastest mortgage lenders in the UK
Speed is usually less important when remortgaging, as you often have several months to arrange a new deal before your current rate ends. When buying a property, however, speed can be crucial, as delays in receiving a mortgage offer could put the purchase at risk.
At YesCanDo, we track how long each mortgage lender takes to process our cases, measured in calendar days from the submission of the full mortgage application to the receipt of the formal mortgage offer.
Our figures show that processing times have varied over the past three years:
- 2024: 10 days
- 2025: 12.8 days
- 2026 so far: 10.8 days
The encouraging news is that processing times have improved again in 2026, moving much closer to the levels we saw in 2024.
The gap between mortgage lenders is far wider than those figures suggest. Across the 18 mortgage lenders we tracked through 2025, Halifax was quickest at 9.4 days while The Mortgage Works took 24.8 days. So far in 2026, TSB is out in front at 6.8 days, while HSBC has slipped to 20 days. That is a gap of around 13 days between the quickest and the slowest, measured across our own cases rather than on identical applications.
Approval times vary depending on your circumstances and your choice of mortgage lender. Self-employed applications can take longer because there is more income evidence to review. Cases involving adverse credit can take longer, too, though usually because of extra underwriting rather than paperwork.
If speed is your priority, say so at the outset. It changes which mortgage lenders are worth approaching.
Our guide to the fastest mortgage lenders in 2026 has the full ranking, updated as the year goes on. If a completion date is driving your purchase, speak to one of our advisers, and we will tell you who is moving quickest on cases like yours right now.
The biggest mortgage lenders in the UK
A small group of mortgage lenders does most of the lending in this country. Knowing who they are is useful, though, as you will see below, the biggest and the best are not the same thing.
How many mortgage lenders are there in the UK?
There are around 100 mortgage lenders in the UK. The market is made up of banks, building societies, and mortgage lenders that deal only through brokers and never directly with the public.
Who are the Big Six?
The largest mortgage lenders in the UK are often called the Big Six: Lloyds Banking Group (which includes Halifax), Nationwide, NatWest Group, Santander, Barclays and HSBC. The ranking below is by how much each lent in 2025, according to the annual UK Finance figures published in July 2026.
- Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Halifax, lent £52.2 billion, an 18% share of the market
- Nationwide Building Society lent £49.4 billion, a 17% share
- NatWest Group lent £35.1 billion, a 12.1% share
- Barclays lent £31.3 billion, a 10.8% share
- HSBC lent £25.2 billion, an 8.7% share
- Santander UK lent £24.9 billion, an 8.6% share
Between them, they account for most of the mortgage lending in the UK. The wider UK mortgage market grew quickly in 2025, with total gross lending reaching £282.1 billion, up 20.1% on the year before. Santander grew fastest of the six at 57.6%, while Lloyds grew slowest at 11.1% and still held on to first place.
A market that is consolidating
Nationwide bought Virgin Money, and Virgin Money’s business transferred to Nationwide on 2 April 2026. Clydesdale, part of the same group, stopped all new residential mortgage lending in July 2026 after 188 years, with new business moving to the Nationwide and Virgin Money brands instead.
Below the Big Six sit mortgage lenders such as Coventry Building Society, Skipton and Accord, which lend on a smaller scale but put out competitive deals and often win on criteria. Accord is intermediary-only, so you can reach it through a broker but not directly. Specialist mortgage lenders such as Kensington and Kent Reliance concentrate on particular types of borrower.
Does the biggest mortgage lender mean the best?
No. Market share tells you how much a mortgage lender lends, not how well it will handle your application. The biggest mortgage lender is not automatically the right one for you, and in some circumstances it will be the wrong one.
Should you choose a high street mortgage lender?
It depends on your circumstances. A high street mortgage lender gives you branch access and a broad range of products, and the largest ones often offer competitive interest rates.
Mainstream lenders can sometimes be less flexible when an applicant’s circumstances fall outside their standard criteria, although this varies from lender to lender. Some high street lenders are very good with self-employed applicants and more complex income.
If you have adverse credit, unusual income or are buying a non-standard property, a smaller or intermediary-only lender may be willing to consider a case that a mainstream lender would decline.
The key is to compare both. The best lender for you will depend on your individual circumstances, not simply whether they are a well-known high street name.
Mortgage lender reviews
Our reviews of individual mortgage lenders cover criteria, products and how each one handles applications. Several of these are broker-only, including Accord, BM Solutions, Platform and Digital Mortgages by Atom Bank, so you cannot approach them directly, however good their rates and deals look.
- Accord Mortgages
- Barclays Mortgages
- BM Solutions
- Coventry Building Society Mortgages
- Digital Mortgages by Atom Bank
- Generation Home Mortgages
- Halifax Mortgages
- HSBC Mortgages
- Leeds Building Society Mortgages
- Nationwide Mortgages
- NatWest Mortgages
- Platform Mortgages
- Perenna Mortgages
- Santander Mortgages
- Skipton Mortgages
- TSB Mortgages
- Virgin Money Mortgages
How to compare mortgage lenders
The best mortgage deal comes from the mortgage provider that will lend you what you need at a competitive rate and on a timescale that works for your purchase. When you compare mortgages, weigh up:
- The interest rate. The starting point, though rarely the deciding one on its own. Our guide to the best mortgage rates compares current options.
- Fees and charges. The arrangement fee, any booking fee and the early repayment charges all change what the mortgage actually costs you.
- Speed. How long the mortgage lender takes to issue an offer, which matters most when you are buying.
- Affordability. How much the mortgage lender will lend against your income, which varies more between mortgage lenders than most people expect.
- Service. How easy the mortgage lender is to deal with once the application is in, and whether its online access actually works.
- Reputation. What existing customers say, and how the mortgage lender handles things when they go wrong.
- Mortgage term. How long a term the mortgage lender will agree to, which affects both your monthly payments and how much interest you pay overall.
- Green mortgage options. Some mortgage lenders offer better mortgage rates or cashback on energy-efficient properties, which is worth checking if yours has a strong energy rating.
It is also worth checking whether the mortgage lender offers the type of mortgage you need. Not every mortgage lender covers shared ownership, buy-to-let or new build, and finding that out after you apply wastes weeks.
1. Identify what you actually need
Before comparing anything, be clear on what you are looking for. The type of property, the size of your deposit and the mortgage term you want will all narrow the field, and some mortgage lenders will rule themselves out immediately on one of those alone.
2. Check reputation and service
Mortgage rates and fees are not the whole picture. Reviews on Trustpilot and Google are worth reading, though bear in mind that for a large bank most of them relate to current accounts and branch service rather than mortgage underwriting. An independent customer score is more useful, though it measures the experience of existing borrowers rather than how the mortgage lender treats new applications. What matters more is how the mortgage lender handles an application once it is submitted, which is where most of the frustration happens.
3. Check whether you can reach the mortgage lender at all
Not every mortgage lender sells to the public. Some are intermediary-only, meaning the only way to apply is through a broker. Others deal both directly and through brokers, and a few restrict their range so that only some broker firms can access them. A handful of products are available through one channel and not the other, so the same mortgage lender can look different depending on how you approach it. This is worth establishing early, because there is no point building a shortlist around a mortgage lender you cannot actually apply to.
4. Speak to a mortgage broker
A mortgage broker works with mortgage lenders every day and knows which ones are currently lending quickly, which have changed their criteria, and which are likely to accept your application before you make it. Speak to our fee-free mortgage advisers for help finding the right mortgage lender for your situation.
Specialist mortgage lenders
Specialist mortgage lenders such as Kensington and Aldermore build their products around borrowers who do not fit the standard profile, including the self-employed and those with a poor credit history. Kensington has been owned by Barclays since 2023 but still lends as a separate business through brokers only.
These mortgage lenders can be far more flexible on criteria than a high street name, though the mortgage rate may be higher, so it is worth comparing both.
Mortgage lenders for the self-employed
Being self-employed does not stop you getting a mortgage, though it does mean more evidence of your income, and mortgage lenders differ in how they assess it. There are now many willing to consider self-employed applicants.
Having a good-sized deposit, a high credit score and at least two years of accounts will widen your options considerably. Some specialist mortgage lenders will lend without all three, though the mortgage rate reflects that.
Right to Buy mortgage lenders
Some, but not all, mortgage lenders offer Right to Buy mortgages, and the scheme applies only in England. To get one, you need to qualify for the scheme itself, which your council or housing association confirms, and then meet the mortgage lender’s own criteria on credit history and affordability. A mortgage adviser can tell you which mortgage lenders are currently lending on Right to Buy purchases, since the pool is smaller than for a standard purchase.
Shared ownership mortgage lenders
Not every mortgage lender offers mortgages on shared-ownership properties, and availability varies as lenders adjust their product ranges. Because the pool is smaller and moves more often, this is one of the cases where a mortgage broker saves the most time, since we know which mortgage lenders are currently active and which have stepped back.
Mortgage lenders that accept a 5% deposit
Some but not all UK mortgage lenders will lend to buyers with a 5% deposit, which is a 95% loan to value mortgage. Which mortgage lenders offer them changes regularly, as each one adjusts how much risk it wants to take on, so it is worth checking which lenders are active before you start looking.
Buying with a 5% deposit gives you fewer lenders to choose from, and the rates available are usually higher because the lender is taking on more risk.
Not every lender offers 95% loan-to-value mortgages; some require a minimum deposit of 10% or even 15%.
Of the government schemes aimed at low-deposit buyers, the mortgage guarantee scheme, rebranded as Freedom to Buy and made permanent in July 2025, sits behind some of these mortgages. It covers part of a mortgage lender’s losses on repayment mortgages with loan-to-value ratios between 91% and 95%, making those mortgages less risky to offer. You do not apply for it, and you may never know it was used. It is worth understanding that most mortgage lenders now offer 95% mortgages independently of the scheme, so it rarely changes which deal you can actually get.
That does not mean a 5% deposit closes the door. It means the pool is smaller, and many buyers remortgage once they have built up more equity, which opens up mortgage products at lower loan-to-value bands.
Before you commit, work out what the monthly mortgage repayments would be at the mortgage rate you would actually be offered rather than the one you see advertised, and speak to a mortgage adviser if you are unsure.
Buy-to-let mortgage lenders
Buy-to-let is assessed differently from a residential mortgage, with the rent the property is expected to generate mattering as much as your own income. Several mortgage providers deal in buy-to-let only, including BM Solutions and The Mortgage Works, both of which are broker-only. Others lend on both but apply separate eligibility criteria to landlords, particularly on the number of properties you already own.
Mortgage lenders for bad credit
Try not to assume the worst here. A poor credit history does not rule out a mortgage, but it does change which mortgage lenders will consider you.
Missed payments, defaults and outstanding debts all lower your credit score, and some mortgage lenders will decline on that basis alone. Others specialise in exactly these cases. It is worth checking what is actually on your file before you apply, and our guide to getting a free credit report explains how.
The process usually takes longer, and the mortgage rate will be higher than the best on the market, though that is not necessarily permanent – many clients are later able to move to a mainstream mortgage lender once the adverse credit is further behind them.
A mortgage broker will know which mortgage lenders are currently accepting cases like yours. That matters because a full mortgage application normally involves a hard credit search, and several of those in a short space of time can make the next application harder.
Should you remortgage with the same mortgage lender?
When your current deal is coming to an end, staying put is the easy option but not always the best deal. How much equity you now have and how far your mortgage balance has fallen both change what you qualify for, and with around 100 mortgage lenders competing for your business it is worth checking rather than assuming. Before you decide, ask yourself:
- Does your current mortgage lender have the best mortgage rate available to you?
- Once the fees are added, does it have the best overall mortgage deal?
- Does it handle your particular circumstances well?
- If your timescale is tight, is it fast enough?
If you are weighing it up, our guide on remortgaging with the same mortgage lender walks through when staying put does make sense.
Mortgage lender frequently asked questions
These are the questions our advisers get asked most often about choosing between mortgage lenders.
Which mortgage lender lends the most?
Lloyds Banking Group is the largest mortgage lender in the UK by volume, but the mortgage lender that will lend you the most is a different question entirely. Each one applies its own income multiples and affordability rules, and the difference between the most and least generous on the same application can run to tens of thousands of pounds. Comparing a wide range of mortgage lenders is the only way to find out which will lend you what you need.
What documents do mortgage lenders need?
The exact list varies by mortgage lender, but most will ask for:
- Passport
- Driving licence
- Proof of name and address
- Proof of income
- Proof of deposit
- Your last three months of bank statements
Gathering these before you apply, rather than during the application, will save you time, and our guide to what information you need to get a mortgage covers what each mortgage lender is looking for.
Which mortgage lender is the most generous?
Generosity usually comes down to the income multiple a mortgage lender will apply. Most work to somewhere between four and five times your income, though several will stretch further for applicants who meet particular conditions, and a few schemes aimed at first-time buyers go higher still. The difference between the most and least generous mortgage lender on the same application can be tens of thousands of pounds, which is why it is worth checking rather than assuming your own bank will lend the most.
Which bank is easiest to get a mortgage with?
There is no mortgage lender that is easiest for everyone. If you are employed, have a clean credit history, and a decent deposit, the largest high street mortgage lenders are usually the most straightforward because your application fits the profile their systems are built around. If you are self-employed, have adverse credit, or are buying an unusual property, a specialist mortgage lender will often be far easier, even though the same lender would be harder work for a standard application.
Working with the right mortgage lender
YesCanDo Money is a fee-free, family-run mortgage broker with access to the whole of the market. You get one dedicated adviser from start to finish, contactable by WhatsApp, email, or text, and we compare mortgage lenders to find the right mortgage deal, prepare the mortgage application, and submit it for you. There are no broker fees, which is part of why more than 2,400 clients have rated us 5-star.
Get free mortgage advice, get a remortgage quote, or call us on 033 0088 4407.
We also plant a tree for every mortgage we complete.
