International commercial broker Jim Robertson, who got together with UK domestic mortgage specialist Mike Davies to provide the service, describes it as "a unique business opportunity that's never before been available to the Irish investor. This lending service will be particularly useful for those who have a large portfolio of either commercial or private buy-to-let properties and can be used for both purchases and remortgages on UK properties.

"The figures we've looked at indicate that Irish investors have something in the region of 7bn invested in the UK property market. The people we're targeting with this deal are investors with 20 or 30 or 40 houses, or substantial commercial property. Until now, UK lenders have usually limited their exposure in terms of how many properties they will finance or by how much they will lend.

With this deal, there's no limit in terms of the size of the portfolio. In other words, if you have 200 properties, well, that's great, " he says.

The service is available to Irish landlords living and working in Ireland but with properties in the UK. Portfolios can be a mixture of residential buyto-let and commercial properties, or commercial on their own.

According to Jim Robertson, block applications are preferred but each borrower will be assessed individually and rates will be determined by volume of potential business. "This is a bespoke mortgage service." he says. "It's not the standard, off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all loan."

Further information from Robertson & Co International Commercial Mortgage Brokers, 00441516 252 437.