Woolwich targets remortgage customers

Barclays is extending its ‘Woolwich Great Escape' remortgage package to 80 per cent loan to value after moving it from 70 to 75 per cent in November 2010.

‘The Great Escape' is a lifetime tracker mortgage at base +3.18 per cent. The 70 and 75 per cent LTV deals remain at base +2.38 per cent and base +2.58 per cent respectively.

Borrowers can also opt for "Great Escape" fixed rate deals which continue to be priced at 3.28 per cent (70 per cent LTV) and 3.48 per cent (75 per cent LTV).

If borrowers take the tracker deal, they have the option to switch to a fixed rate whenever they choose, without paying an Early Repayment Charge. The "Switch & Fix" feature launched in July 2010 means borrowers can benefit from a tracker while base rates are low but have the security of being able to switch to a fixed rate should they become concerned about future interest rate rises.

Andy Gray, head of mortgages for Barclays said: "Our latest estimate is that there are still 800,000 borrowers who are sitting on lenders standard variable rates (SVRs) who could benefit from switching.

“It's predicted that base rate will remain at 0.50 per cent for the majority of 2011, so anybody delaying the decision to ditch SVR will continue to pay much more than they need to this year.”

Gray said that remortgage applications have jumped by over 40 per cent and Woolwich now has only 3 per cent of customers on its SVR.