From April, NatWest will become Rightmove’s exclusive mortgage lender, powering its Mortgage in Principle service, helping people to understand how much they can borrow to aid their homebuying search.
NatWest’s growth strategy is underpinned by a focus on being there for the moments that matter in its customers lives, from their first savings goal to buying a first home. With over one billion minutes spent on Rightmove on average every month this new partnership ensures NatWest can better support customers when they are making key financial decisions – like finding the right home.
Rightmove’s mission is to digitise more of the UK property market to help speed up the home-moving process through innovative technology solutions. The mortgage in principle from NatWest will join a suite of affordability tools on Rightmove including stamp duty, mortgage and renovation calculators, along with instant and in person property valuation tools.
By helping home-movers to understand what they can afford earlier in their journey, Rightmove aims to send its agent partners more informed and better qualified enquiries.
Solange Chamberlain, CEO Retail Banking, NatWest said: “Partnering with Rightmove ensures NatWest can be there for customers at the exact moment they’re thinking about buying a home – combining our mortgage expertise, with a seamless digital experience.
As we look to grow further, this new partnership expands the way customers can start their relationship with NatWest and will help us make homeownership a reality for even more people – bringing more joy and less stress to the home buying process.”
Johan Svanstrom, CEO at Rightmove says: “Our aim is to give people more confidence when they’re moving home. We help consumers to better understand what they can afford earlier in their home-moving journey, which in turn also helps Estate Agents or Home Developers have more qualified discussions with them. We’re excited to be partnering with NatWest as we continue to invest in innovative digital solutions to help make things quicker and more simple for everyone involved.”
Supporting the next generation of homebuyers
Rightmove has the UK’s largest and most engaged home-moving audience, along with the UK’s largest choice of homes. Over 80% of all time spent on property portals is on Rightmove, giving NatWest a greater chance to reach more movers and first time buyers, helping to drive its focus on helping the next generation become homeowners.
NatWest recently launched two new propositions to help more first time buyers own their own homes. The Family Backed Mortgage enables first time buyers to add a second person to their mortgage while retaining independent ownership. NatWest’s Shared Ownership Mortgage means first time buyers can borrow to buy a share of their home, which they can add to over time, whilst paying rent on the proportion they don’t own.
In November, NatWest confirmed a commitment to lend £10bn to first-time buyers during 2026.
An exceptional digital mortgage service
NatWest has grown to become the 3rd largest mortgage provider in the UK. The bank is committed to innovating within the digital mortgage space and currently leads the market with the largest flow of digital new business. In recent years, the bank has invested significantly in improving its digital customer experience – with enhanced live chat features, seamless connection to expert colleague support and faster mortgage decisions.
As part of the new partnership, NatWest will provide home buyers with an instant fully digital NatWest mortgage decision in principle when applying through Rightmove, enabling customers to then complete their full application online. Eligible customers will then receive an offer within 24 hours. Customers who require more support will be connected to a mortgage expert to help with their application.
At its Retail Bank Investor Spotlight in November, the bank included a deeper dive on the growth potential of its mortgage business, and more information can be found here.
