A £1 million or £2 million mortgage is still a substantial financial commitment, but it is increasingly difficult to describe high-value borrowing as an exotic corner of the mortgage market. Newly released FCA data shows mortgage sales above £500,000 grew significantly faster than mortgage transactions overall during 2025.
The Financial Conduct Authority published its latest mortgage Product Sales Data on 20 August 2026, providing transaction-level information covering mortgage and remortgage sales through 31 December 2025.
Aggregating the FCA's quarterly geographic data produces a striking result. Mortgage sales in the FCA's highest published loan-size band — above £500,000 — increased from approximately 50,181 transactions in 2024 to 62,391 in 2025.
That represents growth of approximately 24.3% in a single year.
Across the same dataset, total mortgage sales increased from approximately 941,000 to 1.081 million, equivalent to growth of around 14.8%. On that basis, the £500,000-plus segment expanded roughly 60% faster than mortgage sales overall.
High-value mortgage transactions did not simply rise with the recovering mortgage market. The £500,000-plus segment expanded materially faster, increasing its share of mortgage sales from around 5.3% to approximately 5.8%.
Why This Matters More Than Another Large-Loan Product Launch
Individual lenders regularly increase maximum loan sizes, adjust high-value LTV limits or introduce new private-client propositions. Those changes can be important to an individual borrower, but they do not necessarily tell us what is happening to the market as a whole.
The FCA data is different. It shows completed mortgage and remortgage transactions across the market rather than the lending appetite of one institution.
The implication is that high-value borrowing itself is becoming a more significant part of UK mortgage activity.
That is particularly relevant because £500,000 is simply the top loan-size category within the published FCA breakdown. The 62,391 transactions therefore include mortgages at £600,000 and £750,000, but also the £1 million, £2 million, £3 million and larger facilities that sit firmly within the private-client lending market.
A £2m Mortgage Is Not Automatically a Private-Bank Mortgage
Historically, borrowers seeking several million pounds could reasonably assume that their requirement would lead directly to a private bank.
That assumption is becoming less reliable.
Mainstream banks have continued to expand their large-loan capabilities, while specialist lenders and private banks remain active across different parts of the HNW market. A borrower requiring £2 million or £3 million can therefore have several fundamentally different ways to structure the same property transaction.
A straightforward high earner purchasing a conventional prime residence may be perfectly suited to a mainstream high-value mortgage. An entrepreneur with complicated business income, substantial investments and a preference for interest-only borrowing may obtain a materially better outcome from a private bank or specialist lender.
The loan amount is important, but it is no longer enough on its own to determine which part of the market the client should use.
Potentially appropriate for borrowers with strong, readily evidenced income who need a substantial loan but do not require a wider private-banking relationship.
Can become relevant where the loan size is substantial or the borrower's income, property or circumstances sit outside standard mainstream policy.
May offer greater flexibility where the client has complex income, significant assets, international circumstances or a requirement for more bespoke underwriting.
Some HNW clients may also need to compare property borrowing with liquidity from another property or, where appropriate, securities-backed or Lombard lending.
High-Value Borrowing Is Also About the Client's Balance Sheet
The larger the mortgage becomes, the less useful it can be to examine the debt in isolation.
Consider a client with a £4 million home, a £2 million mortgage, £3 million of investments and a substantial interest in a privately owned business.
A conventional mortgage review might concentrate almost entirely on the £2 million loan: the interest rate, monthly payment, LTV and fixed-rate period.
A private-client debt review asks a broader question: is the £2 million liability structured appropriately for the client's total financial position?
That can involve the client's liquidity requirements, investment strategy, expected business distributions, future property purchases, repayment plans, interest-only strategy and the extent to which they want their property borrowing tied to a wider banking or investment relationship.
More High Earners Are Appearing in the Mortgage Data Too
The FCA data also points to growth among higher-income mortgage customers. Mortgage sales to borrowers reporting gross household income above £100,000 increased from approximately 188,700 in 2024 to around 217,000 in 2025, an increase of roughly 15%.
Income and mortgage size are not interchangeable measures. A high-income household does not necessarily require a large mortgage, while some HNW clients with significant assets may have income profiles that look relatively modest under a conventional affordability assessment.
Nevertheless, the two trends reinforce the same broader point: the mortgage market increasingly needs to accommodate clients with larger incomes, larger property values and larger borrowing requirements.
The Bigger the Mortgage, the More Valuable the Structure Becomes
A small difference in pricing matters much more when applied to a multi-million-pound balance.
But rate is only one component of the decision.
A large-loan borrower may need to consider whether the mortgage should be repayment or interest-only, whether part of the balance should be repaid from a future liquidity event, whether capital should remain invested, whether assets need to be moved to the lender and whether the proposed facility restricts future borrowing or property plans.
Private-bank pricing can sometimes appear attractive while carrying a requirement to establish a wider banking or investment relationship. Conversely, a mainstream mortgage can offer simplicity but may provide less flexibility around complicated income or repayment strategies.
The correct comparison is therefore not simply: “Which lender has the lowest rate?”
It is: “Which borrowing structure produces the most appropriate overall outcome for this client's circumstances?”
A HNW client's investment portfolio may be reviewed continuously, while a £1 million or £2 million mortgage can remain untouched until a fixed rate is about to expire. As high-value lending expands, substantial property debt deserves the same level of active review as other major components of the balance sheet.
Existing Private-Bank Borrowers May Now Have More Choice
The growth of high-value lending also creates an important refinancing opportunity.
Some clients entered private banking because, at the time their mortgage was arranged, the required loan size sat beyond the comfortable limits of mainstream lenders.
That does not mean the same constraint exists when the facility matures.
The large-loan market evolves. Maximum loan sizes change, LTV limits move and mainstream banks periodically expand their appetite for higher-value mortgages. A borrower who previously needed private banking because of loan size alone may therefore have a wider range of options at the next review.
That can be especially relevant where investment assets were transferred to the existing bank primarily to support the mortgage relationship.
There may be perfectly good reasons to retain that relationship. But the client should know whether it remains necessary rather than assuming the original rationale still applies.
Interest-Only Becomes Increasingly Important at Larger Loan Sizes
High-value borrowers frequently approach repayment strategy differently from mainstream mortgage customers.
Some may prefer to maintain investment capital rather than accelerate repayment of property debt. Others expect future business-sale proceeds, bonuses, investment maturities, property disposals or another identifiable liquidity event to repay part or all of the mortgage.
That makes interest-only lending particularly relevant within the large-loan market, but lender approaches differ significantly.
Acceptable repayment strategies, maximum LTVs, minimum equity requirements and the treatment of investment assets can all vary. A structure that works with one bank may be unacceptable to another even where the borrower has substantial overall wealth.
The repayment strategy therefore needs to be tested alongside the lender selection rather than treated as an afterthought.
Property Wealth and Investment Wealth Need to Be Considered Together
One of the most important decisions for some HNW borrowers is whether to use investment capital to reduce a mortgage.
A client might hold £2 million of investments and require an additional £1 million to complete a property purchase. Selling investments could reduce the mortgage requirement, but it could also alter the client's investment strategy, crystallise tax consequences or require assets to be sold at an undesirable time.
Borrowing the entire requirement may preserve liquidity but increase interest cost. A private bank may consider the investment portfolio as part of the wider relationship. In appropriate circumstances, securities-backed borrowing may provide another source of liquidity.
These are fundamentally different structures with different risks. Securities-backed borrowing, in particular, can expose the borrower to changes in collateral value and potential margin requirements.
Willow's role is not to determine the client's investment strategy. Where a wealth adviser is involved, the more useful approach is to establish the available debt structures so that the mortgage decision can be considered alongside the client's investment advice.
Why Wealth Managers and Private Client Advisers Should Pay Attention
The FCA figures also have an important implication for professional introducers.
A mortgage can be one of the largest liabilities on a private client's personal balance sheet, yet debt often receives far less ongoing attention than investments.
A wealth manager may rebalance a £2 million portfolio repeatedly during the life of a five-year mortgage while the client's £2 million property debt receives almost no strategic review until the fixed rate is approaching expiry.
For clients with substantial borrowing, there is a strong case for making debt review part of the wider private-client planning cycle.
That does not require the wealth manager to provide mortgage advice. It requires the appropriate specialists to work alongside one another, with the wealth adviser managing the assets and investment strategy while the mortgage adviser assesses the property liability and lending market.
A £1m+ Private Client Debt Review Can Consider:
- Current property value and LTV: including whether the client's equity position has materially changed.
- Existing mortgage balance: and whether the current lender remains competitive for the required loan size.
- Fixed-rate maturity: allowing sufficient time to compare mainstream, specialist and private-bank options.
- Income structure: including salary, bonus, dividends, retained profit, partnership income or other complex earnings.
- Investment assets: establishing whether they influence the appropriate lending route without assuming they should be transferred or pledged.
- Business interests: particularly where conventional affordability calculations do not reflect the client's wider financial strength.
- Interest-only strategy: including the proposed source and timing of eventual capital repayment.
- Future liquidity: such as a business sale, bonus, inheritance, investment maturity or property disposal.
- Future property plans: including additional purchases, capital release or buying before selling.
- Alternative structures: comparing conventional mortgages, private banking and, where appropriate, other forms of secured liquidity.
£500,000 Should Be the Beginning of the Segmentation, Not the End
The FCA's published £500,000-plus category is useful for identifying the direction of the market, but it groups together borrowers whose needs can be dramatically different.
A £550,000 mortgage on a £750,000 home and a £5 million mortgage on a £10 million property both appear within the same published band.
For advisers, the more useful commercial segmentation is therefore likely to go further.
Borrowers above £500,000 increasingly enter the high-value lending market. At £1 million and above, lender selection, interest-only strategy and underwriting flexibility can become materially more important. At several million pounds, private banking and balance-sheet lending may become increasingly relevant, particularly where the client's circumstances are complex.
The FCA figures show the direction of travel. The advice requirement comes from understanding what sits inside that expanding high-value segment.
How Willow Private Finance Can Help
Willow Private Finance works with clients requiring substantial residential borrowing, including HNW borrowers whose circumstances do not fit neatly within a single lender category.
Rather than assuming a £1 million, £2 million or larger requirement automatically belongs with a private bank, we can compare mainstream high-value lenders, specialist lenders and private-bank options according to the client's actual circumstances.
Where appropriate, the review can also consider interest-only structures, capital raising against other property and the interaction between property debt and investment liquidity.
For wealth managers, accountants, private client solicitors and other professional advisers, this can be undertaken alongside the existing advisory relationship. The objective is to make sure one of the client's largest liabilities receives the same level of scrutiny as the other major components of their financial position.
Does a £1m–£5m Mortgage Still Need a Private Bank?
The growth of high-value lending means substantial borrowers can increasingly have several competing funding routes. Willow's Complex Property Lending & UHNW Finance Hub explains how mainstream large loans, specialist lenders, private banks and more bespoke structures can fit different private-client circumstances.
Explore Complex Property & UHNW FinanceFrequently Asked Questions
High-value mortgages can sit across mainstream, specialist and private-bank lending. These are some of the questions borrowers commonly need to resolve before deciding how to structure a substantial loan.
Is a £1 million mortgage automatically a private-bank mortgage?
No. A growing number of mainstream and specialist lenders operate in the high-value mortgage market. Private banking can still be particularly useful for complex income, international circumstances, substantial investment assets or bespoke repayment strategies, but loan size alone does not necessarily determine the appropriate lender.
What is different about arranging a £1 million or £2 million mortgage?
Large loans can involve different maximum LTVs, interest-only policies, affordability approaches and underwriting authorities. The borrower's income, assets, property, repayment strategy and wider balance sheet can all influence which lending route is most suitable.
Can a high-value mortgage be arranged on an interest-only basis?
Potentially. Interest-only lending is available in the high-value market, but lenders normally require an acceptable repayment strategy and may apply different loan-to-value or income requirements. The appropriate structure depends on the client's circumstances and lender criteria.
Should a HNW borrower compare a mainstream mortgage with private banking?
Often, yes. Where more than one lending route is available, comparing mainstream high-value lenders, specialist lenders and private banks can reveal material differences in pricing, flexibility, interest-only terms, asset requirements and the wider banking relationship.
Why should an existing large mortgage be reviewed before its fixed rate ends?
The high-value lending market can change materially during a mortgage term. A borrower may now have access to lenders, loan sizes or structures that were not available when the existing facility was arranged. Reviewing the debt early provides more time to compare the wider market rather than simply accepting the incumbent lender's next option.