New research has revealed the best hotspots for holiday rentals along the route of The Tour de Yorkshire, which kicks off this Thursday with the participation of Mark Cavendish and reigning champion Serge Pauwels adding a good deal of buzz to the annual event.

The major sporting spectacle, taking place in so-called ‘God’s own country’, will bring many of the world’s top cyclists hurtling up and down the hills and dales of the county made famous by its tea, puddings and, in recent years, an association with various world-class athletes such as Jessica Ennis-Hill and the all-conquering Brownlee brothers.

Now the most attractive yields along the course for holiday let investors have been outlined as part of research conducted by buy-to-let mortgage lender Together.

The lender, which specialises in finance for holiday lets, used Land Registry house price statistics and estimated rental data from short-let booking firm Airbnb to calculate rental yields in locations around the route for the 2018 tour.

“Millions of people are expected to join in the riot of colour and celebration which has come to epitomise the Tour de Yorkshire race, and these spectators will be looking for a place to stay,” Daniel Owen-Parr, head of professional sector and auction at Together, commented.

“Many will be visiting Yorkshire for the first time to watch the race but may return again and again once they see Yorkshire’s natural beauty and history, its bustling market towns and scenic coastline – providing great opportunities all year round for savvy investors.”

Swinton in South Yorkshire – part of the Barnsley to Ilkley stretch of the 2018 tour – was top of the pile in terms of rental yields, with holiday let investors able to achieve rental yields of up to 13%. 

Together’s research also found that yields on a holiday rental flat in Masham, North Yorkshire – a checkpoint on the fourth stage – could be up to 7.9%. Meanwhile, in Halifax, West Yorkshire, investors could achieve yields of up to 7.6%, while those looking to invest in Craven could be enjoying yields of 7.1%.

The study also found that holiday rental yields for a flat at Old Pool Bank, near Leeds – where the professional riders taking on this year’s tour face an intimidating 1k climb at a 10% gradient – could be up to 6%.

These figures stand up well to the average rental yields for buy-to-let as a whole, which is at 5.9% for both Yorkshire and the UK overall.

In addition, while traditional buy-to-let investors have been negatively affected in recent years by a spate of new taxes on rental revenue and a phasing out of mortgage interest tax relief, this doesn’t apply to holiday let investors, who can set their full mortgage interest payments against tax.

As well as this, holiday let investors can furnish their holiday property and deduct the entire cost from pre-tax profits. Also, when they come to sell, they may qualify for reliefs ensuring that capital gains tax is lessened.

“We would recommend that holiday let investors should take advice from a tax expert and a specialist mortgage adviser before their purchase to make sure they have all the information available to them,” Owen-Parr added.