This week, we’ve asked three mortgage broker business owners what corporate messages they are circulating to intermediary employees and their mortgage clients to calm the waters following the UK’s Brexit vote.
Peter Brodnicki, chief executive, Mortgage Advice Bureau, has urged his intermediary partners to seize the opportunities which have been created by the Brexit vote.
Conor Murphy, director, Capricorn Financial Consultancy, has reassured its brokers that business volumes are robust enough to absorb any downward pressures on mortgage transactions as a result of Brexit.
Simon Checkley, managing director, Private Finance, says he is confident that the UK can negotiate a deal similar to the one it had as an EU member, to minimise instability.
Peter Brodnicki, chief executive, Mortgage Advice Bureau
Last Friday, MAB issued a communication to its distribution partners titled, ‘How to avoid any potential Brexit downturn’ which listed 10 ways in which opportunities could be maximised, and overall business levels maintained and increased.
None of it was rocket science, but at least we all have the choice and opportunity to do something about it. We are also launching a new remortgage campaign this week to support lead generation for our distribution.
Our customers need to consider their personal motivation to buy, as that is highly unlikely to have changed, and view the purchase as a long-term commitment not a short-term investment.
The housing and mortgage markets go through phases for a variety of reasons, and Brexit is just one of those reasons. We have dealt with far worse, and every downturn brings with it opportunity for those with the right attitude and determination to not let their performance be affected. In fact the far more dramatic downturn in 2008, was the beginning of the most successful period in MAB’s history.
There is nothing any of us can do about the market, but what we can do is maximise market share and cross sale opportunities. There is absolutely no reason why firms with a very clear and well-managed business model and customer experience cannot prosper in what is likely to be a period of fewer purchase transactions.
Many of us can fall into cherry picking mode when times are good, which is frustrating but not surprising, however, that ‘option’ has now been removed unless of course you are happy for your income to suffer. This is a time for business principals to review the efficiency of their business, and consistency of performance and customer experience, and make any changes required.
It’s a time for everybody to keep calm and focused.
Conor Murphy, director, Capricorn Financial Consultancy
Clearly there is a great deal of uncertainty around the UK’s decision to leave the EU and understandably people are nervous, but by and large the property market appears to have taken it fairly well.
That is the message that we are giving to our brokers and clients; there is uncertainty, but the lending market is fine, London is still London and try not to over-react to the current ‘political’ (as opposed to economic) uncertainty.
Our structure is a little different from most in that all of our advisers are self-employed. We tend to look for naturally ambitious, motivated and optimistic guys. Thus they are mainly seeing Brexit as an opportunity, which is the Capricorn approach to doing business.
All of the market chat over the past few months and years has been that there is a huge shortage of brokers, relative to the volumes of deals out there. Even if volumes dropped 10% on the back of Brexit that will still be the case. I think there is more than enough business to go around and brokers who keep working hard and keep delivering great service will continue to prosper.
We work with a lot of estate agents and developers and so far there appears to be very few drop offs in agreed sales. I have heard examples of European clients pulling out of deals, where they fear they may have to repatriate, but in general most transactions, for now, appear to be proceeding as planned. The big mortgage lenders have all said to us that it is ‘business as usual’ so no problems on that side. We also deal with a lot of overseas buyers, typically in the new-build sector and they appear to be viewing the weakness in sterling as a buying opportunity.
Simon Checkley, managing director, Private Finance
Understandably the politicians, especially those who campaigned for Leave, wish to reassure people but in reality they do not know what lies ahead. In the short term, whilst we might hear a lot of worrying news, the worst that will happen as far as our industry is concerned is a slowdown in activity, although the uncertainty itself will create business opportunities. In the long term we will eventually know whether Brexit will have been a good or bad thing for Britain.
Going forward Private Finance expects that every effort will be made to negotiate a new deal with the EU which will look very similar to that which existed when Britain was part of it. The impact on the UK would not be that great if this were the only issue, unfortunately, however, the global economy is not only about Britain’s relationship with the EU. The fear is that the people within the EU might start to question their country’s membership especially if Britain gets a deal outside the EU.
The situation might be difficult for a quite a long time to come but Private Finance is involved in a long term strategy, is well funded and will work hard to assist people in the challenging times which lie ahead.
