The maximum fee paid by developers for the sales guarantee service has been cut by 14%.

In addition, the firm has added an accelerated sell-out fee, which gets reduced from 3.49% to 2.99% should the developer exchange all units within 18 months.

The non-sell out cost has also been lowered from 6.99% to 5.99%.

The new lower fees apply with immediate effect to all sales guarantee proposals that are live with lenders, developers and brokers.

Mark Roberts, relationship director at LDS, said the idea behind the reductions was to reward SME housebuilders taking on small and large-scale schemes.

•   Hilltop launches real estate funding and management platform
•   LDS hires ex-Homes England investment head
•   Ex-Homes England CEO joins LDS

The latest changes come three months after LDS introduced a lower fee band and expanded its criteria to include apartments.

Mark Hawthorn, CEO at LDS (pictured above), remarked: “We constantly challenge ourselves to improve our offering, no matter the market conditions.

”It is this desire to provide the simplest and most cost-effective option for lenders and developers that has driven these changes.

“The finance and housing markets are becoming more challenging and volatile by the day — LDS removes uncertainty, enables lending and unlocks housing supply.

“We are proud to be able to reduce the fees for our customers when they are facing increased costs and risk in most other areas of operations."