The summary
April Mortgages set out to challenge the conventions of the UK mortgage market with a differentiated proposition that traditional mortgage technology struggled to support. With Ohpen’s cloud-native, configuration-led platform, April launched long-term fixed-rate mortgages with features including LTV-linked pricing, zero-deposit lending and lending of up to 7x income for eligible borrowers. A phased implementation enabled April to enter the market quickly while creating the flexibility to evolve products and lending policies through configuration rather than bespoke development.
About April Mortgages
April Mortgages is a UK residential mortgage lender challenging traditional lending with flexible, long-term mortgage products designed around borrowers’ changing needs. Its proposition includes long-term fixed rates, LTV-linked pricing and more flexible repayment options.
The challenge
Launching a new mortgage lender is challenging. Launching one with a proposition that breaks the conventions of the UK mortgage market is even harder.
April Mortgages set out to create a fundamentally different lending proposition—not simply another variation on existing mortgage products. Its vision included long-term fixed-rate mortgages, interest rates that automatically reduce as borrowers improve their loan-to-value (LTV), no early repayment charges when customers move home or redeem their mortgage using their own funds, and lending of up to 7x income for eligible borrowers.
Most mortgage platforms are designed around standard lending products. Introducing a proposition like April’s often means compromising the product to fit the technology, relying on bespoke development, or accepting lengthy implementation cycles.
April wanted a technology platform that could adapt to its business model—not the other way around.
The solution
Ohpen provided a cloud-native mortgage platform designed around configuration rather than custom development, enabling April to launch an entirely new lending proposition while maintaining operational efficiency.
Using configurable product definitions, pricing rules and lending policies, April’s proposition—including LTV-linked pricing, affordability criteria and repayment terms—could be implemented through platform configuration rather than bespoke coding. As lending policies evolve, changes can be made without rebuilding the platform.
To minimise delivery risk, the implementation followed a phased approach. April launched its remortgage proposition at the end of 2023 before expanding into purchase mortgages in 2024, allowing the business to scale progressively while delivering value early.
The same configuration-led architecture that supports every lender on the Ohpen Platform was applied to a proposition unlike any existing mortgage product in the UK market.
“The right technology partner doesn’t ask you to compromise your proposition to fit the system. It builds around the ambition. With Ohpen’s technology, April isn’t trying to optimise around the edges of a traditional mortgage. It’s rethinking what the product can be.”
James Pagan, Chief Technology Officer, April Mortgages
The impact
April successfully launched its differentiated lending proposition without compromising its vision to fit the limitations of traditional mortgage technology.
Today, the Ohpen Platform supports a mortgage offering that includes:
- Long-term fixed-rate mortgages
- Interest rates that automatically reduce as loan-to-value improves
- No early repayment charges when borrowers move home or redeem using their own funds
- Lending of up to 7x income for eligible borrowers
- Zero deposit lending
- A platform that enables product and policy evolution through configuration rather than redevelopment
By combining configurable technology with a phased implementation approach, April was able to bring an innovative lending model to market quickly while providing the flexibility to continue evolving its proposition as the business grows.
The proposition has also earned industry recognition. In 2026, April won Best Lender Innovation at the Mortgage Strategy Awards. It also won Best Innovation in the Mortgage Space and Best Newcomer in the Mortgage Space at the MoneyAge Mortgage Awards.
By combining configurable technology with a phased implementation approach, April brought a new lending model to market while creating the flexibility to keep evolving as the business grows.
