Heron Financial arranged a £454,000 remortgage with Santander for Intermediaries on a £4,500,000 detached home for a self-employed limited company CEO holding 26.94% of the business, with a homemaker joint applicant. The remortgage placed the loan at approximately 10% LTV and was structured deliberately to reduce the borrowing. The case completed in January 2025.
The clients
The clients were a couple, one a Ltd company CEO with a 26.94% shareholding and six years of trading accounts, the other a homemaker. They lived in a £4.5m detached home with a substantial equity position built up over many years and were remortgaging to reduce the mortgage rather than to raise capital. The remortgage was a wealth-management decision: bringing the borrowing down and locking the new arrangement in cleanly with a major lender.
The case at a glance
- Borrowers: Joint applicants
- Occupations: Self-Employed Company Director (CEO of Ltd company, 26.94% shareholding) and Homemaker
- Trading history: Six years of accounts
- Property type: Detached house
- Current valuation: £4,500,000
- Equity: £4,045,500
- Loan amount: £454,500
- LTV: Approximately 10%
- Lender: Santander for Intermediaries
- Repayment method: Capital and interest
- Reason for remortgage: To reduce the borrowing
Why this case mattered
Three features shaped this remortgage.
1. Director income with a 26.94% shareholding. Most mainstream lenders treat directors as self-employed for income evidence purposes once the shareholding crosses a defined threshold, commonly 20% or 25%. At 26.94%, the applicant sat clearly within self-employed territory for lender treatment, even though the holding is well short of majority control of the business. This means income evidence runs through tax returns, SA302s, accountants’ references and company accounts rather than through payslips alone. With six years of trading accounts available, the underlying evidence base was strong, but the lender still had to assess the income on a director-specific basis.
2. Single-earner joint application. With one applicant a homemaker rather than an earner, affordability rests on the working applicant’s income alone. At a £454,000 loan against a £4.5m property, the loan-to-income ratio matters less than the absolute income figure and the lender’s affordability rules for director-style remuneration. Lenders that take a sensible view of director income, including any retained profit treatment, tend to be the right fit.
3. High-value property and low LTV. A £4.5m valuation with a £454,000 mortgage gives an LTV of around 10%, well below the cheapest mainstream pricing tier and inside specialist HNW territory for some lenders. Not every lender writes mortgages on properties at this value, and lender appetite varies on residential property valuations above £2m. The case needed a lender that combines HNW residential appetite with sensible director-income criteria.
The combination of these three features narrows the realistic shortlist of lenders to those that can handle all three at once. Santander for Intermediaries came out as the right placement on criteria, lender appetite for the property valuation and approach to director income.
How Heron Financial approached the recommendation
The Heron adviser worked through affordability against the applicant’s recorded director remuneration, took a structured view of the salary, dividend and shareholding picture across the six years of trading, and matched the case to a lender comfortable with all three of the case’s distinguishing features: HNW property valuation, single-earner joint application, and Ltd company director with sub-majority shareholding. With the clients wanting to reduce the borrowing as part of a wider wealth-management plan, Heron Financial recommended Santander for Intermediaries.
The outcome
The remortgage completed in January 2025. The clients moved onto the new mortgage with a reduced borrowing position and a clean lender arrangement.
What this means for buyers in a similar position
For limited company directors, particularly those holding shareholdings above the 20–25% threshold that triggers self-employed treatment, the lender choice is more important than the headline rate. Different lenders read director income differently. Some look only at salary plus dividends. Some include retained profit. Some have specific rules about minimum trading history or how to treat single-year fluctuations. With six years of accounts, as in this case, most lenders have plenty of data to work with, but the specific reading of that data drives the affordability outcome.
For high-net-worth households remortgaging at low LTV, the rate is typically not the binding constraint. The questions that matter more are which lender will write a mortgage at the property’s valuation, which will read the director income sensibly, and which has a workable process for HNW residential cases. Heron Financial works with each household to find the right placement across all three.
For couples where one applicant is a homemaker, joint applications are entirely workable. The non-earning applicant goes onto the application and benefits from the security and ownership arrangements, while affordability rests on the working applicant’s income.
FAQs
Can a Ltd company director with 26.94% shareholding get a mortgage?
Yes. Most lenders treat directors as self-employed for income evidence purposes when the shareholding is above a defined threshold, commonly 20% or 25%. In this Heron Financial case, an applicant with a 26.94% shareholding and six years of trading accounts secured a £454,000 remortgage with Santander for Intermediaries on a £4.5m home.
How do lenders assess CEO or company director income?
Lender approaches vary. Most use salary plus dividends drawn from the company. Some include retained profit. Some average the figure over two years; others use the most recent year. Trading history matters: six years of accounts, as in this case, gives lenders a strong basis to assess sustainability
Are mortgages available on £4 million plus homes?
Yes, but lender appetite varies. Most mainstream lenders write mortgages on residential properties up to a defined valuation ceiling, beyond which specialist HNW lenders take over. Some mainstream lenders, including Santander, write at higher property values. In this Heron Financial case, Santander for Intermediaries provided the lending on a £4,500,000 home.
Can a homemaker be on a joint mortgage?
Yes. The non-earning applicant goes onto the mortgage and the property title alongside the working applicant. Affordability is assessed on the working applicant’s income. In this Heron Financial case, a Self-Employed Company Director and a homemaker took the mortgage jointly, with affordability based on the director’s income.
Why remortgage to reduce borrowing rather than raise capital?
Remortgaging is a wealth-management decision as well as a financial necessity. Reducing the borrowing as part of a remortgage can lock in a lower mortgage balance, reduce interest paid across the term and align the mortgage to the household’s wider plans. In this Heron Financial case, the clients deliberately reduced the borrowing on the remortgage.
