A&L made the announcement it is to offer these mortgages through intermediaries for the first time at its 2005 results announcement to the City.
Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages at A&L said: "For some time we have been examining the potential to move into new markets and become a broader based lender. These specialist markets are increasingly mature and well established.
"This decision comes after a great performance by Alliance & Leicester in 2005 and against the backdrop of a stable economy, a robust housing market and historically low interest rates. We are keen to respond to changing customer needs with great value products in new areas and the economic environment means we can now do so confidently."
During the past few years A&L has concentrated on areas such as mortgage products, service levels and communications to intermediaries in the prime residential mortgage market. The success of these improvements is evident in another strong set of annual results for mortgages in 2005 producing £11.1 billion of gross lending and a total net lending of £4.9 billion.
The niche mortgages will be distributed by A&L and the bank will receive a fee for each mortgage.
Alliance & Leicester research shows that two-thirds of mortgage intermediaries are calling for more competitive pricing and 51 per cent want better value mortgages in the buy-to-let, self-certification and non-conforming markets.
Mehrdad Yousefi, head of intermediary mortgages, added: "Our plan is to offer the specialist mortgages through intermediaries who will bring further experience and expertise to the mix.
"Our research suggests that they are calling for more competitive pricing and better value mortgages in these markets. We are responding to customer needs and our entry into these markets will help brokers offer good value mortgages to their clients. Although these mortgages may not be suitable for all borrowers, this move should help to meet the growing demand for these products."
