UK five-year fixed savings bonds reach 5.25% as savers weigh access to cash
GB Bank, Shawbrook and Vanquis were among providers offering five-year fixed bonds at 5.25%, according to the Guardian. The rate comes with a long commitment: Shawbrook allows withdrawals only when its bond matures.
Shawbrook Bank is among UK providers offering a five-year fixed savings bond at 5.25% AER, putting a higher return within reach of savers willing to leave their money untouched for years. The Guardian reported on 28 September that GB Bank and Vanquis Bank also had five-year offers at 5.25%. The rates give savers a choice between securing a return now and retaining access to their cash while offers continue to change.
The 5.25% figure is a rate for a five-year commitment, rather than a return available across all fixed savings terms. The Guardian said fixed bonds typically tie up money for periods ranging from six months to five years. Its report described fixed savings rates as being at multiyear highs, citing the data provider Moneyfacts, while also noting that offers may improve further. Whether they will do so remains uncertain.
What the current offers show
Shorter commitments carried lower quoted rates in the Guardian’s 28 September report. It listed a one-year GB Bank bond paying 5.05% and a 13-month Kent Reliance account paying 5.06%, each with a £1,000 minimum deposit. The average rate on new one-year fixed bonds was 4.41% on the Thursday before the article, the Guardian reported. Those figures show why both the length of the lock-in and the particular account matter when comparing headline rates.
Shawbrook’s own product information confirms a 5.25% annual equivalent rate for its five-year fixed bond, Issue 57. The bank says that rate took effect on 16 September 2026 and cannot change during the bond’s term. It quotes a £1,000 minimum balance and says applications must be made online. The account is available to eligible adults permanently resident in the UK who meet the bank’s other stated conditions.
For that Shawbrook bond, the access restriction is explicit: the bank says customers can withdraw their money only when the fixed term ends. It also says an account can be funded within 28 days of opening and will be closed if it remains unfunded after that period. Those conditions are distinct from the headline interest rate. Someone who may need the money before maturity would face a materially different arrangement from an easy-access account.
Shawbrook gives an illustration of how its rate works: a £1,000 deposit would grow to an estimated £1,292 after five years if interest were paid and compounded annually, with no withdrawals. The example assumes the fixed rate remains in place and rounds interest to the nearest pound. It is an illustration for that product and set of assumptions, rather than a quoted result for every saver or every account paying 5.25%.
The choice between fixing and waiting
A fixed rate offers certainty about the account’s stated return for its term. Waiting preserves the ability to consider later offers, but there is no established path for those rates. Rachel Springall of Moneyfacts told the Guardian she expected savings deals to get better, while cautioning that the direction of interest rates in the coming months was unknown. Her expectation is a forecast, not a guarantee that a later bond will pay more.
Access to cash is another part of that choice. The Guardian reported easy-access accounts paying up to 5% and noted that some fixed bonds allow additional deposits for a limited time after opening. It also raised the prospect of higher winter energy bills as a reason savers might need funds available. The rate alone therefore does not describe how usable an account is: withdrawal rules and any window for adding money change what a saver can do with it.
The Guardian also reported Springall’s suggestion that savers consider a mix of fixed products, accessible accounts and cash Isas. That was her general view of the available choices, rather than a prediction about which rate will prove best. Rates on cash Isas can differ from those on non-Isa bonds; the Guardian identified a Shawbrook five-year fixed cash Isa paying 5.25% alongside its bond. The accounts’ tax treatment and access conditions are separate points to check.
What remains unsettled
The offers described here are dated snapshots. Shawbrook’s stated 5.25% rate was effective from 16 September, and the Guardian’s account comparisons were published on 28 September. Banks can change or withdraw offers for new applicants, even though a fixed rate, once secured under the account terms, stays fixed for its term. The next movement in savings rates is unknown, leaving the present rate, the length of the commitment and the rules on access as the concrete terms available for comparison.
Sources and context
- Should you lock into a fixed-rate savings account paying 5.25%?The Guardian
- 5 Year Fixed Rate BondShawbrook Bank
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.
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