Recognise Bank Partners with Rent Chief to Offer Free Property Investment and Research Tools

08 December 2021

- First lender to work with the property-tech firm Partnership offers free tools and customer discounts

Challenger bank, Recognise Bank, is partnering with leading property-tech firm, Rent Chief, to offer professional landlords and property investors a range of research tools to help them identify property investment opportunities and better manage their rental portfolios.

Recognise Bank is the first lender to partner with Rent Chief, which was set-up by Patrick Shuker, who previously co-founded TrigoldCrystal, a leading mortgage sourcing and compliance system. The tie-up follows hot on the heels of the launch of the bank’s Professional Buy-to-Let (PBTL) product last month, which is specifically designed for landlords and investors with portfolios of four properties or more.

Two of Rent Chief’s most popular tools, a Property Investment Calculator and a Property Research Tool, will be available free of charge on the Recognise Bank website at www.recognisebank.co.uk/professional-buy-to-let-loan.

With the Property Investment Calculator, landlords and investors will be able to forecast vital information such as the gross yield and overall return on investment for their property. The Property Research Tool provides important intelligence such as sale prices and rental prices at a post code level, helping buyers to make informed decisions about the areas and types of property they invest in.

Customers of Recognise Bank’s new Professional Buy-to-Let loan will also get a three-month free trial of the Rent Chief Pro property management platform, which normally costs £15 per month. If they carry on beyond the trial period, Recognise Bank customers will also get a 10% discount on the 12-month plan. The platform is designed to help landlords manage all the important elements of their rental businesses, from reminders when gas safety checks are due, storing EPC certificates and other important documents, through to actually communicating directly with renters through its Tenant Portal.

Announcing the partnership, Angela Norman, Head of Corporate Development for Recognise Bank, said: “We want to provide professional landlords and investors with more than just a Buy-to-Let loan, we are on a mission to help them run successful, profitable, rental portfolios, and in doing so ensure good quality homes for the UK’s renters.

“Rent Chief’s tools and calculators gives buyers the resources they need to make informed property investment choices and manage their portfolios professionally. It’s good to partner with another great fintech firm and, in particular working with Patrick, I think we have created a fantastic package for landlords and investors.”

Patrick Shuker, Founder of Rent Chief, said: “Rent Chief was created in response to my experience of both investing in and managing property. Outside of corporate property management, there wasn’t a solution for professional landlords that would not only help them make more profitable property investments, but also to manage their rental portfolios all in one place.

“The challenges to landlords are only going to increase in terms of maximising profit from their properties, but also ensuring good quality homes for tenants due to factors such as increased EPC standards. I saw in Recognise Bank a desire to really support professionalism in the sector, an ambition that Rent Chief shares, so I am delighted to be partnering with the bank.”

Recognise Bank launched its professional Buy-to-Let loan in November, available for acquisitions and refinances to buyers with a portfolio of four properties or more. Rates start from 3.49%, and borrowers can choose a five-year fixed-rate deal or a variable deal linked to the Bank of England Base Rate, with a maximum LTV of 75% on loans from £100k up to £5 million.

It is the latest product from the bank which was created to serve SMEs with a range of Commercial Mortgages, Bridging Loans, Working Capital Loans and Professional Practice Loans. It has a network of regionally based Relationship Managers who understand the needs of local businesses and their communities, backed by cloud-based technology to provide businesses with quick lending decisions and access to their funds.

The bank launched its first range of personal savings products in September this year following the lifting of its deposit restrictions, which has enabled it to further increase its lending to small businesses. It plans to launch business savings accounts next year.