Ingard has added National Counties and the Family Building Society to its panel of lenders.

These specialist lenders will now accept direct and packaged business from Ingard’s network members and specialist distribution team.

National Counties specialises in lending in and into retirement, self-employed, interest-only, holiday homes, second homes, expatriate and armed services.

The Family Building Society helps first time buyers with small deposits, to borrow for their first homes through the use of intergenerational lending. It also lends to the self-employed and those who have been through lifestyle changes such as divorce.

Nikki Haworth, Ingard’s sales and marketing director, said: “We’re excited to partner with National Counties and the Family Building Society.

“The number of non-standard cases which our members and directly authorised brokers are faced with is continually rising. Partnering with lenders who offer individual underwriting and innovative product ranges, such as the aforementioned, is key to ensuring our members and specialist distribution team are able to provide cost-effective solutions to these customers.”

Cammy Amaira, head of intermediary sales at National Counties and Family Building Society, added: “There is an ever growing need to support those borrowers who are just not always best served by other lenders in the mortgage market – the first-time buyers without the significant deposits and older borrowers, for example.

“Every application we consider is underwritten on a case by case basis, so we are able to offer our introducing brokers and packagers the best options for their customers.”