Molo suspends buy-to-let lending

In a statement on its website, the specialist lender said it is "extremely unhappy with the situation... which has been caused by recent changes in the capital markets".

Molo said that it has filled its current tranche and its buy-to-let products will be closed until it receives further funding. Molo said it is "anticipating this to be soon but currently cannot yet confirm a fixed date".

Molo added that is has been "impacted by the unprecedented increases in the cost of funding due to spiking inflation and Bank of England base rate rises since the start of the year". It said that these rises had "worsened dramatically over the past few weeks".

The lender explained that the key costs it is facing are interest rate related, adding that its key benchmarks in this space have risen over 550% since April last year.

The suspension only applies to buy-to-let products and Molo is still operating as normal for its residential FlexLife mortgage range.

For any buy-to-let customers who have not yet received a mortgage offer, Molo will cancel the application and refund any valuation fees.

If borrowers have received an offer, Molo advised that it will get in touch with an update on the application and the next steps to take.

A Molo Finance spokesperson said: “Molo has announced that it is temporarily closing its buy-to-let range to new applications. Molo receives its funding in set tranches and the current tranche has been filled.

“Molo’s new buy-to-let funding line is not quite ready to launch, which is why products have been withdrawn until further notice. Molo will relaunch as soon as the new buy-to-let funding line is ready and we’ll be proactively sharing this with the market.”