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PRESS RELEASE
Britain Could Save £7b By Re-mortgaging

June 18, 2003

Britain could save £7 billion by re-mortgaging, says The Motley Fool

It's been two months since the public was hit by a financial "triple whammy": a 1% rise in National Insurance Contributions, much higher Council Tax bills and energy price hikes (both domestic fuel bills and petrol). These three increases have hit the typical British worker's pocket to the tune of around £360 a year, which we can ill afford to lose.

However, award-winning personal finance website The Motley Fool (www.fool.co.uk) offers a solution to homeowners. Bruce Jackson, Managing Director and co-founder of the Motley Fool UK, reckons that most mortgage payers could easily save a lot more by finding better deals. Bruce remarks,

"Currently, Britain's 11.5 million mortgage borrowers have an eye-watering £700 billion in mortgage debt, which means that we're paying up to £3 billion in interest every month! By changing lenders or winning improved deals from existing lenders, we reckon that most borrowers can cut their interest bills by a third or more."

"For example, a borrower with a £100,000 interest-only mortgage who secures a 2% reduction in his/her annual interest rate would see his/her interest bill fall by a staggering £2,000 a year. If we all shopped around and cut our mortgage interest rates by just 1% on average, we would collectively be over £7 billion a year (1% of £700 billion) better off!"

The Motley Fool website (www.fool.co.uk) has a re-mortgage area explaining how to do it and how simple switching can be. With interest rates at their lowest level since 1955, there's no excuse not to switch and save. Many shrewd homeowners are already doing this: according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, lending for remortgages overtook loans for house buying for the first time ever earlier this year.

Bruce concludes,

"Many homeowners have already caught on to the massive savings that re-mortgaging brings. Since the beginning of this year, more money has been lent for re-mortgaging than for home-buying, but we could still save a fortune by making our home loans work harder."

- ends -

Contact Information

Bruce Jackson, Managing Director, The Motley Fool UK
E-mail: BruceJ@Fool.co.uk
Direct line: (020) 7663 3733
Fax: (020) 7663 3700

NOTES TO EDITORS

About The Motley Fool

The Motley Fool's mission is to tell people the truth about finance, helping them to take control of their money and make better financial decisions.

Launched in 1997 and still one of the UK's most popular personal finance websites, www.fool.co.uk had over 15 million page views in May 2003 and has more than 200,000 visitors every month. The site has won numerous awards, including:

  • 2002 Incisive Media People's Choice Award
  • 2001 Investor's Week People's Choice Award
  • 2001 Net Magazine Award for Best Finance Site
  • 2000 Investor's Week Award for Best Bulletin Boards
  • 2000 Net Magazine Award for Best Finance Site
  • 1999 Creative Freedom Award for Best Website
  • 1999 New Media Age Effectiveness Award for Best Personal Finance Site

The Motley Fool has published a dozen books in the UK. Its best-selling UK Investment Guide has sold over 200,000 copies and was recently published in its third edition. The Fool's latest book is a popular guide to female financial fitness, A Girl's Best Friend Is Her Money.