Commercial mortgage lending

Nationwide is one of the foremost lenders in the UK commercial property market with a loan book in excess of £20bn.

As at 4 April 2009, Commercial Lending represented 14.4% of total group loan assets.

Our commercial lending activity is spread across a range of sectors including office, residential, industrial, retail and leisure. It supports the refinance and acquisition of properties throughout the UK and selected countries on the continent.

The commercial portfolio comprises £13.3bn secured on commercial property, £6.9bn to registered landlords and £1.2bn under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

We are one of the UK’s largest lenders to social housing providers and became the first lender to commit over £8bn to the sector in 2007. UK registered social landlords provide affordable housing supported by governmental grants. This portfolio historically has carried a lower risk than our other commercial lending activities, and to date we have sustained no losses nor needed to raise any loss provisions against this portfolio. Lending to Registered Social Landlords represents over 30% of the commercial portfolio.

Commercial lending also centres on the UK PFI/PPP sector, committing over £1bn to government sponsored infrastructure projects during the past 10 years. This includes the first and largest property portfolio transfer, the first courthouse, and the largest hospital.