Offset mortgages and overdraft facilities are often associated with niche corners of the lending market, and for good reason. For landlords seeking loans under £1 million, especially through high street lenders, these structures are essentially unavailable. The mainstream market simply doesn’t offer them.
However, step into the private bank lending arena, and the picture changes entirely. For high-value landlords and portfolio investors, particularly those borrowing in the millions, private banks can structure borrowing in ways that deliver liquidity, efficiency, and strategic control.
At this level, the two most powerful tools are:
These are exclusive to private banking relationships and are structured to fit around the borrower’s portfolio and investment plans, not the other way around.
Mainstream buy-to-let lenders focus on standardised, fixed-term or variable rate mortgages. Their systems and affordability models are built for simplicity, not flexibility. This means:
Even in the rare cases where a high street lender offers an “offset” product, it is almost always restricted to residential owner-occupied borrowing, with strict limits on loan size, ownership type, and account linking. For professional landlords managing multi-million-pound portfolios, these high street options simply do not fit.
Private banks take a fundamentally different approach. They assess the borrower’s total asset base, cashflow profile, and long-term plans before designing a facility. This allows for:
For landlords with significant capital reserves, these facilities offer strategic advantages far beyond a competitive rate:
Retain liquidity for your next purchase while reducing interest costs in the interim.
Keep SPV or LLP earnings offsetting the mortgage until the next investment opportunity.
Ideal for landlords reliant on seasonal income, profit shares, or dividend flows, smoothing cashflow without overcommitting.
For refurbishment or ground-up projects, draw down in phases and only pay interest on what’s been used.
For higher-rate taxpayers, the effective yield from interest savings can exceed that of any taxed deposit account.
A portfolio landlord with a £4 million facility at a private bank may hold £1.5 million in liquid capital across personal and corporate accounts. By linking these to the loan in a true offset structure:
If the landlord decides to proceed with a purchase, funds can be released immediately without refinancing or breaking fixed terms.
If you are looking for a sub-£1m buy-to-let mortgage, offset or overdraft facilities of this kind are effectively off the table. They are a private banking tool, designed for landlords with large, complex portfolios and substantial liquid assets.
Where high street lenders require you to fit their products, private banks build the facility to fit you. This means your capital can work in multiple ways, reducing costs today while staying ready for tomorrow’s opportunities.
At Henry Dannell, we work closely with private banks to secure these facilities for clients with the right profile. If you are holding significant capital and want it to actively reduce borrowing costs without tying your hands, a tailored private bank offset or overdraft structure could transform the way your portfolio finances operate.