Legal & General reached its £200m lifetime lending target in 2015 after achieving £99m in the fourth quarter alone.
Legal & General reached its £200m lifetime lending target in 2015 after achieving £99m in the fourth quarter alone.
L&G squeezed over its target with £201m of lending, while as of the fourth quarter it had a 22% market share.
The insurance giant acquired New Life Home Finance in April 2015 which it rebranded to Legal & General Home Finance.
Bernie Hickman, chief executive of Legal & General Home Finance, said: “I’m delighted with the start Legal & General Home Finance has made in the lifetime mortgage market in 2015.
“The market has experienced 20% compound annual growth since 2011, and an ageing population adds further potential growth in years to come.
“With funding from our annuity portfolio we have been able to offer customers competitive interest rates and great product features, which in turn make lifetime mortgages even more attractive for customers wanting to release equity without moving from their homes.
“Lifetime mortgages further diversify our high quality annuity asset portfolio as we increase our exposure to direct investments.”
The equity release market completed £1.61bn of lending in 2015, a 16% increase from the year before based on Equity Release Council figures.
However many commentators are in agreement that the market has potential to shoot up more considerably in the next few years, as last year Association of Mortgage Intermediaries chief executive Robert Sinclair said it could be a £5bn market by the end of the decade.
