For large mortgages of £1 million or more
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As an independent broker, we assess mainstream, specialist, and private-bank options to identify lending routes that fit your borrowing requirement, income structure, property, and wider financial circumstances.
The most important things to know before arranging a £1m+ mortgage.
Key Takeaways
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Yes, £1 million mortgages are available from a range of UK lenders, but eligibility depends on more than simply earning a certain amount.
Lenders will assess factors including:
For borrowers with straightforward employed income and sufficient affordability, mainstream banks may provide competitive options.
Where income or wealth is more complex, specialist lenders or private banks may offer more suitable underwriting approaches, and cases at this level are often reviewed with more manual underwriting than standard mortgages.
Your wider financial situation can also affect the interest rate and terms available when borrowing a million pounds or more.
All mortgage applications remain subject to the lender's affordability assessment and individual lending criteria.
There is no universal minimum income for borrowing a million pounds on a £1 million mortgage.
A simple income multiple illustrates why:
These are illustrations rather than indications of what an individual lender will offer.
Selected lenders offer enhanced income multiples to eligible higher-income borrowers, but reaching a particular income threshold does not guarantee that multiple. Lenders must still assess whether the mortgage is affordable based on your income, expenditure, and wider circumstances.
If a significant proportion of your earnings comes from bonuses, commission, dividends, partnership income, or another variable source, the way a lender assesses that income can also make a material difference to your borrowing capacity.
Lenders will also look at your broader financial situation, not just headline earnings.
It is important to distinguish between buying a £1 million property and taking out a £1 million mortgage.
If you are borrowing £1 million, the property will usually be worth more than £1 million unless the mortgage represents 100% of its value.
For example:
These figures are illustrative.
The maximum LTV available will depend on the lender, loan size, property type, repayment method, and your circumstances. Some lenders reduce their maximum LTV as loan size increases.
A larger deposit or greater equity can widen the lender options available and may provide access to different mortgage products or pricing.
If you are instead buying a property for £1 million, your mortgage requirement will depend on the amount of deposit you are contributing.
Large mortgages are not simply standard mortgages with a larger number attached.
At this level of borrowing, the outcome can depend not only on the amount you earn, but on how your income, assets, existing commitments, and wider financial position fit the lender’s criteria. This is one reason lender selection becomes increasingly important as mortgage size and complexity increase.
Several factors can become increasingly important as borrowing rises.
Lenders can apply different maximum LTVs according to the amount being borrowed.
This means a lender willing to offer a particular LTV on a smaller mortgage may have a lower maximum once borrowing reaches a higher loan band.
Lender criteria and maximum LTVs can change as loan size increases. Some lenders also apply specific large-loan policies or maximum loan limits.
Some lenders have specific large-loan underwriting processes, while others impose maximum loan amounts or tighter criteria at higher values, so comparing lenders based only on their headline mortgage products may give an incomplete picture of the suitable options available.
Someone borrowing £1 million or more may have multiple income streams, such as salary, bonuses, commission, dividend income, partnership profits, or business income.
Different lenders can assess a complex income profile in different ways, meaning two lenders may arrive at different borrowing figures for the same client.
Interest-only mortgages and part-and-part structures may be available where the lender is satisfied with the proposed repayment strategy.
Maximum LTVs for interest-only borrowing can be lower than for capital-repayment mortgages, particularly at larger loan sizes.
Private banks can be relevant for high net worth borrowers, especially where the client has income, assets, or wider circumstances that benefit from more individual underwriting.
However, borrowing £1 million does not automatically mean that private mortgage lenders become the most appropriate option.
Bonus, commission, partnership income, business profits, and other non-standard income sources can all affect borrowing capacity. Different lenders assess these income types in different ways, so the lender selected can materially affect how much of your income is recognised for affordability.
Many mortgage lenders can consider bonus and commission income alongside other income streams, but their methods vary.
Depending on the lender and how the income is paid, they may:
The evidence required can include payslips, P60s, employment information, and records of previous variable payments.
There is no universal requirement for two or three years of bonus or commission history across the market.
For a borrower seeking a large mortgage, choosing the right lender can materially affect how non-standard income is assessed and how much may be borrowed.
Some UK mortgage lenders accept income paid in foreign currencies. However, lender appetite varies according to factors including:
A lender may convert foreign income into sterling using its own methodology and may make an allowance for currency fluctuations when assessing affordability.
You are also likely to need clear evidence of the income, which could include payslips, employment documents, bank statements, or tax information depending on your circumstances and the lender.
Not every UK mortgage lender accepts foreign-currency income, so lender selection can be particularly important for large mortgages involving international earnings.
If you are self-employed or own a business, the income a mortgage lender will use may differ from the amount you personally draw from the business.
Depending on your business structure and the lender, an assessment may consider factors such as:
Different lenders use different approaches. For example, some limited-company directors may be assessed primarily on salary and dividends, while selected lenders can consider a share of the company’s profits alongside salary.
This can be particularly relevant where a profitable business owner deliberately retains income within the company rather than extracting all available profits personally.
Lenders will normally require evidence such as company accounts, tax calculations, tax year overviews, and, in some cases, business bank statements or additional information explaining recent trading performance.
Partners in professional firms can have income structures that do not fit a standard employed mortgage assessment.
Depending on the type of partnership and the lender, income may be assessed using:
Many lenders assess established partners using an average of recent profit shares, although their treatment of falling income, newly promoted partners, and large LLPs can differ.
Some lenders also have specific criteria for partners in larger professional firms, such as law firms, accountancy practices, and medical partnerships such as GP partners.
If you have recently become a partner, the available options can depend on how much income has already been received, what evidence the partnership can provide, and whether the lender is willing to consider the transition from your previous employed role.
It is possible to obtain a £1 million or larger UK mortgage while living abroad.
Available lenders and maximum LTVs can depend on your:
The requirements for a UK expat, a foreign national living overseas, and a foreign national resident in the UK can be different.
Applicants living overseas may therefore benefit from lenders that have specific experience assessing international income and residency circumstances.
A private bank mortgage is not automatically necessary because you want to borrow £1 million or more.
Mainstream routes can still be suitable for large mortgages, and many high street lenders now cater for £1 million borrowing where the applicant's income, deposit, property, and overall circumstances meet their criteria.
Private-bank or specialist lending can become worth considering where the case involves circumstances such as:
Private banks can take a more individual approach to assessing some complex financial profiles, but their eligibility, pricing, and relationship requirements vary.
Some private-bank propositions involve wider assets-under-management or banking relationships, while others may provide mortgage options without a significant AUM requirement.
A specialist broker can compare the available mainstream, specialist, and private-bank routes rather than assuming one type of lender will always provide the best solution.
For some high-net-worth borrowers, lenders may consider the wider financial position alongside employment or business income.
Depending on the lender and mortgage structure, assets such as investments, property, or other liquid assets may be relevant to the underwriting assessment or repayment strategy.
However, simply owning substantial assets does not automatically mean they will increase the amount a lender considers affordable.
Assets can play different roles depending on the mortgage, including:
How individual assets are treated is lender-specific.
Interest-only mortgages are available for some large mortgage borrowers, subject to lender criteria. They typically have lower monthly payments than repayment mortgages.
Rather than repaying the mortgage balance gradually through monthly capital repayments, an interest-only borrower pays the interest during the mortgage term and needs an acceptable strategy for repaying the capital at the end.
For illustration only, at an assumed interest rate of 4.5%, the monthly interest payment on £1 million would be £3,750.
Depending on the lender, potential repayment strategies can include investments, other property, cash savings, or other acceptable assets.
Maximum LTVs for interest-only borrowing can be lower than for a capital-repayment mortgage, particularly at larger loan sizes.
Part-and-part mortgages can also be considered. These combine a capital-repayment element with an interest-only element.
Monthly costs depend on the loan duration and mortgage type chosen, as well as:
Whether the mortgage is repayment, interest-only, or part-and-part
A fixed rate can help make mortgage repayments more predictable, although the right option depends on your plans and budget.
Rather than relying on a single repayment example, you can use our Million Pound Mortgage Calculator to explore how different rates, terms, and loan amounts affect the indicative monthly cost.
Please note: our calculator provides an illustration of potential payments. It does not determine how much a lender will consider affordable or confirm that a particular mortgage is available.
The first step is to understand the borrowing requirement and your overall financial situation before applying.
Useful information to have available includes:
A borrower with straightforward employed income may have access to a broad range of mainstream lenders.
Where income comes from several sources, is variable, or involves business ownership, foreign income or significant assets, the choice of lender, and way the application is presented can become more important.
A specialist broker can help identify lenders whose criteria are better aligned with your circumstances and manage the application through the lender's process.
The issues affecting a large mortgage can change as borrowing increases.
If you already know the approximate amount of finance you require, our more detailed guides cover some of the considerations at higher loan levels.
If you are unsure how much you may be able to borrow, use our calculator for an initial indication of potential mortgage costs or speak to one of our mortgage advisers about your circumstances.
At around £2 million, lender choice, property type, and maximum LTV can become increasingly important.
See our full guide on borrowing £2 million.
At around £3 million, published lender criteria show that some lenders begin applying more restrictive large-loan LTV bands.
See our full guide on borrowing £3 million.
Borrowing £5 million or more can involve a narrower range of potential lenders and greater relevance of private-bank underwriting, complex wealth, international assets, and bespoke mortgage structures.
See our full guide on borrowing £5 million.
Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to property purchases in England and Northern Ireland.
For a £1 million residential property purchased as your only residential property, the current standard SDLT calculation is:
0% on the first £125,000 = £0
2% on the portion from £125,001 to £250,000 = £2,500
5% on the portion from £250,001 to £925,000 = £33,750
10% on the remaining £75,000 = £7,500
Total SDLT: £43,750.
Higher rates can apply when purchasing an additional residential property, and separate additional rates can apply to certain non-UK resident purchases.
Scotland and Wales use different property transaction taxes.
Tax rules can change and individual circumstances affect the amount payable, so you should check the current government guidance or obtain appropriate tax advice before relying on an estimate.
Large mortgage cases often fall into the category of high value mortgages, where lending routes can be broader than in a standard mortgage application.
As an independent mortgage broker, we compare options across mainstream lenders, specialist mortgage providers, private banks, and other lender types to help identify appropriate lender options for bigger loans based on your requirements and circumstances.
We can advise on residential mortgages, buy to let mortgages, and cases involving rental income or more complex income sources.
Our role is to identify relevant lender options, explain how the relevant criteria apply to your circumstances, and manage the mortgage process through to completion.
If you are considering a mortgage of £1 million or more, speak to our expert mortgage team about your borrowing requirement, income, property, and wider circumstances.
Call us on 0203 900 4322 or book a call-back at a time that suits you.
If there were 10 stars, I would give them. Excellent, efficient service, got the best rates available o n the market. Nick Kerley was brilliant throughout the whole process, I would definitely recommend Clifton Private Finance and 100% use them again.
I had the pleasure of working with James Ellacott on brokering my commercial mortgage. James and his team delivered outstanding service throughout the entire process—always quick to respond to my requests and consistently going the extra mile to help me secure additional funding. I highly recommend them.
We did NOT have an easy time getting a mortgage for our recent home purchase, but Patrick went above and beyond in finding a lender and navigating their seemingly endless barrage of requests and delays. He'll be our first call in two years when we need to remortgage.
