A 100% mortgage is often misunderstood, but in the form of Lombard lending it can be a highly efficient way to finance property. This case study explains how an £825k North London purchase was structured using investment-backed lending, allowing the client to retain liquidity and investment exposure.

The phrase "100 per cent mortgage" carries baggage. It evokes memories of pre-2008 lending excess, negative equity, and borrowers stretched beyond their means. But there is a version of 100 per cent financing that has nothing to do with any of that. It is called Lombard lending, and for the right borrower, it is one of the most financially efficient ways to buy property.

We recently arranged exactly this structure for a former senior investment banker. He had left his position to spend several years with his family. No current employment. No income. What he did have was over £6 million in savings and a clear desire to buy an £825,000 property in North London.

He could have paid cash. It would have been simple. But it would also have been expensive in ways that are not immediately obvious. Deploying £825,000 into an illiquid asset means that capital is no longer working. If the investment portfolio is generating 5 to 7 per cent annually, paying cash for the property carries an opportunity cost of £40,000 to £58,000 per year. That is the real price of buying outright, and most people never factor it in.

The Lombard structure works differently. The client invested £1.2 million with the lender for a five-year term. The lender then advanced £825,000 against the invested portfolio, secured not against the property but against the financial assets. The interest rate was 1.5 per cent over the Bank of England base rate. The return on the invested funds was expected to materially exceed the borrowing cost, meaning the mortgage effectively pays for itself while the client retains full liquidity and market exposure.

The security model is the critical difference. In a conventional mortgage, the lender's security is the property. In a Lombard facility, the security is the investment portfolio. This means the lender is not assessing income or affordability in the traditional sense. They are assessing the quality, liquidity, and value of the pledged assets. For borrowers with substantial portfolios but no conventional income stream, this removes the single biggest barrier to mortgage approval.

Who uses this? Retirees with substantial portfolios. Entrepreneurs between ventures. Individuals living off investment returns or capital gains rather than a salary. Family office principals. Anyone whose wealth is real but whose income, as defined by a mortgage application form, is zero or minimal. These are not risky borrowers. They are some of the most financially secure people in the country. But the standard mortgage market cannot serve them because its assessment framework was designed for employed earners.

There are limitations. Lombard lending is only available from a small number of private banks and specialist lenders. Minimum investment thresholds vary, typically starting at £500,000 to £1 million. The portfolio must meet the lender's criteria for asset quality and liquidity. And the margin between the borrowing rate and the expected investment return is not guaranteed. If markets fall, the client may need to top up the portfolio or accept a margin call.

But for borrowers who understand these risks and have the assets to manage them, Lombard lending offers something no conventional mortgage can: property financing based entirely on what you own, not what you earn. In a world where wealth increasingly comes from entrepreneurship, investment, and capital rather than salary, that distinction matters more than ever.

Read the full case study here: https://www.ennessglobal.com/insights/case-studies/100-loan-to-value-mortgage-no-income