Product Launch

Product Launch

Bovis Homes Group PLC

Bovis Homes Group PLC

New innovative mortgage package for customers

9^th June 2010

• 90% Loan to Value mortgages available for Bovis Homes customers from BarclaysTwo year fixed interest rate of 4.99%
• Mortgage package including free unemployment protection and £500 towards buyer’s legal fees
• Not currently available elsewhere in the new build sector
• Made possible by provision to Barclays of mortgage indemnity guarantee

Bovis Homes is today launching a new innovative mortgage product in partnership with Barclays. This scheme is not currently available elsewhere in the new build sector and was designed working with insurance broking group Jardine Lloyd Thompson. To support its customers, Bovis Homes has agreed with mortgage provider, Woolwich, the mortgage arm of Barclays, to provide Bovis Homes customers with up to 90% Loan to Value mortgages. This new mortgage product, named ‘The Perfect 10’, will be available to customers across all Bovis Homes developments; predominantly assisting first time buyer customers to secure a high Loan to Value mortgage at an affordable cost.

With only a 10% deposit, Bovis Homes customers will be able to borrow the remaining 90% using The Perfect 10 mortgage with an initial fixed interest rate of 4.99% for two years, thereafter moving onto a lifetime tracker at base rate plus 2.49% - which equates to 2.99% at current bank base rate. In agreeing this mortgage package for Bovis Homes customers, Barclays considers the deal represents the most competitive price for high Loan to Value mortgages since the housing market downturn. The Perfect 10 package also includes free unemployment protection insurance for a period of up to twelve months in the event of unemployment arising within three years from the date of exchange and £500 towards a buyer’s legal fees.

Bovis Homes has worked with Barclays and Jardine Lloyd Thompson to create this new mortgage package which has been achieved through the provision by Bovis Homes of insurance to Barclays, in the form of a mortgage indemnity guarantee. This provides Barclays with a capped insurance cover over a period of seven years for actual losses incurred by the bank as a result of a mortgage repossession. The insurance allows Barclays to offer this market leading mortgage package to Bovis Homes customers with an element of protection whilst the potential insurance exposure to Bovis Homes is limited to an acceptable level. A claim can only be made where an actual loss has been incurred by Barclays through a mortgage repossession. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, repossessions are currently running at a per annum rate of c0.4% of outstanding mortgages.

It is anticipated that this new mortgage product will enable Bovis Homes to assist predominantly first time buyers, who typically have lower levels of deposit, to make their first home purchase. High Loan to Value mortgages are not generally available to customers buying a new build home. The Perfect 10 mortgage package provides a solution to this for Bovis Homes customers.

David Ritchie, Chief Executive of Bovis Homes, said: “In the current market, the ability of purchasers, especially first-time buyers, to access high Loan to Value mortgage finance has been severely curtailed. Working with Barclays, we have agreed The Perfect 10 mortgage package, which allows our customers to borrow up to 90% of the value of their new Bovis Home at a very attractive fixed interest rate.

We are also convinced that The Perfect 10 will allow us to reduce use of capital-hungry shared equity-style products, such as our own Jumpstart scheme, thus releasing more cash into the business for further investment. We believe this innovative new product will contribute positively to the delivery of the Group’s sales targets for 2010 and beyond.”

Enquiries:

David Ritchie
Chief ExecutiveChief Executive
Bovis Homes Group PLCBovis Homes Group PLC
Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]

Andrew Best/Peter Edsinger
Share Value LimitedShare Value Limited
Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]