Barclays ‘The Great Escape’ remortgage package

Barclays is helping to liberate customers from standard variable rate mortgages with a specially designed “The Great Escape” remortgage package, launching Tuesday 19th October.

"The Great Escape" is aimed at borrowers who worry it would cost them too much to move to better rates elsewhere, there are an estimated 700,000 mortgages which are on lenders' standard variable rates (SVRs). It provides these borrowers with a competitive, tracker mortgage at 2.18 per cent above base rate (2.68 per cent) at 70 per cent LTV, with no application fee, free legal work and valuation as well as £300 cash back to cover their existing lender's exit fee.

Customers will also benefit from the peace of mind of "Switch & Fix" - available on all Woolwich tracker products - enabling borrowers to switch to a Woolwich fixed rate mortgage at any time without paying any early repayment charges. This feature has proved popular as it allows customers to benefit from a tracker rate while base rate is very low now, but with 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: "We have built this package specifically to help the 700,000 families who feel trapped on their current lender's SVR. We know many of the barriers that stop people re-mortgaging are simply down to cost. We believe the deal launched today will help stimulate the market as it cuts those costs out and provides an additional £300 cashback. With many SVRs at 3.5 per cent or more, customers could save £60 per month or over £700 annually on a £150k repayment mortgage. If their SVR is 4 per cent they will save over £1,200 annually.

"While base rate remains at 0.50 per cent, anybody delaying the decision to ditch SVR is paying more than they need to. With this new offer they retain the flexibility to switch to a fixed rate at any time should their expectations about base rate change, making this one of the most competitive packages on offer today."

This follows on from Barclays hitting a milestone earlier this month when mortgage lending hit £100bn. This has been achieved by evolving and adapting the mortgage range to ensure borrowers' needs are met in the changing market place, providing long term value.

Customers looking for a great value remortgage are not restricted to "The Great Escape". All customers switching their mortgage to Barclays from another provider can benefit from "Switch & Save" where Barclays pays the valuation and legal fees. "Switch & Save" also applies to Barclays loyalty mortgages, launched in August, offering better deals for Barclays current account customers.

Barclays closed its SVR to new customers in 2006. Since then, all customers move onto a competitive lifetime tracker when their initial deal comes to an end. As a result, Woolwich mortgages have less than three per cent of mortgage balances on standard variable rate. All of these customers are eligible to switch across to any other Woolwich mortgage deal at any point, and can also take advantage of "The Great Escape" or "Switch & Fix".