Skipton Group and LMS partner to improve digital homebuying journey

Skipton Building Society is expanding its role in LMS's NPTN (National Property Transaction Network) – connecting mortgage and estate agency expertise to help make buying and selling a home more connected and transparent.

This builds on the existing partnership between LMS and estate agency Connells, part of the Skipton Group.

NPTN aims to connect the different parts of the home selling process, enabling key property, identity and financial information to be captured once and securely reused by the relevant parties throughout the transaction. 

NPTN aims to reduce duplication and fragmented communication, making the homebuying journey simpler and more connected. For buyers and sellers, that could mean less repetition, fewer unnecessary delays and greater clarity about how their move is progressing.

Skipton Group’s expanded role in NPTN reflects growing momentum across the industry to make property transactions more connected and transparent through earlier, secure sharing of information. That ambition aligns with the government’s Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap, which sets out how industry can start providing more property information upfront on a voluntary basis ahead of legislation.

Following its early participation in the NPTN Sandbox, Skipton’s involvement in NPTN will explore how information available across the property journey can be used earlier and more effectively, including through digital property identity, where key information about a property remains connected throughout its journey rather than being repeatedly requested or recreated at different stages of a transaction.

Si Farrell-Roberts, head of lending at Skipton Building Society, said: “Buying or selling a home should be one of life’s most exciting milestones. Yet for too many people, that excitement can be overshadowed by unnecessary complexity, uncertainty and the frustration of delays. At a time when customers should be looking forward to their next chapter, they can instead find themselves navigating a process that feels fragmented and unpredictable.

“We have a real opportunity to change that. By working with Connells Group, LMS and NPTN, we can make important property information available earlier and allow it to be shared securely between the organisations involved.

“Ultimately, customers shouldn’t have to navigate the complexity of our industry. It’s our responsibility to remove as much of that complexity as possible, with the different organisations involved working better together around the customer. By doing that, we can give people greater certainty and confidence throughout their move and help make moving home the exciting and positive experience it deserves to be.”

Chris Rosindale, chief operating officer at Connells Group, commented: “Through this partnership, we can extend the reach of NPTN and continue to deliver on a key aim of the government’s Home Buying and Selling Roadmap: making important property information available earlier and easier to share digitally. That can help make buying and selling a home smoother, more reliable and less stressful for consumers.

“We’re keen to continue sharing those learning with government and the wider industry so that improvements can benefit consumers across the whole market.”

Travis Scholes, chief commercial officer at LMS, added: “Buying a home involves several different organisations, but for the customer it is one journey. NPTN is about creating the connections that allow those organisations to work together more effectively and information to move securely through the transaction.

“By bringing together Skipton’s mortgage lending expertise, Connells Group’s estate agency experience and LMS’s property transaction expertise, we have an opportunity to demonstrate what can be achieved when different parts of the industry work together around a shared goal.

“Ultimately, that’s about making moving home faster, clearer and less stressful, and showing how a more connected approach can deliver a better experience for buyers and sellers.”