diff --git a/doc/build/unreleased/412.rst b/doc/build/unreleased/412.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3ee9bb6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/build/unreleased/412.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+.. change::
+    :tags: bug, lexer
+    :tickets: 412
+
+    Fixed long standing bug where the sequence ``<&`` would be misinterpreted
+    by the lexer.   It's not clear why the ampersand character was part of the
+    characters being consumed here and it may have been an inadvertent bit of
+    code from one of Mako's predecessor languages.
diff --git a/mako/lexer.py b/mako/lexer.py
index 9d1f5f3..b4a76a4 100644
--- a/mako/lexer.py
+++ b/mako/lexer.py
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ def match_text(self):
                  |
                  (?=\${)      # an expression
                  |
-                 (?=</?[%&])  # a substitution or block or call start or end
+                 (?=</?%)  # a substitution or block or call start or end
                               # - don't consume
                  |
                  (\\\r?\n)    # an escaped newline  - throw away
diff --git a/test/test_lexer.py b/test/test_lexer.py
index d8029a1..05aaa1f 100644
--- a/test/test_lexer.py
+++ b/test/test_lexer.py
@@ -827,6 +827,17 @@ def test_dict_expression_issue_400_regression(self):
             ),
         )
 
+    def test_ampersand_issue_412(self):
+        template = """
+property = <&node>;
+
+"""
+        nodes = Lexer(template).parse()
+        self._compare(
+            nodes,
+            TemplateNode({}, [Text("\nproperty = <&node>;\n\n", (1, 1))]),
+        )
+
     def _dont_test_dict_expression_issue_400(self):
         """test for issue #400"""
         template = """