Mortgage News
Platform puts 80 under consultation
Co-operative Bank’s intermediary lender Platform has placed 80 staff in consultation.
In a correction from the original story, Lee Gladwell is not one of the names under consultation.
The consultation is set to last 30 days and Platform’s London office in Canary Wharf will be closed with other departments relocated to other locations, primarily in Manchester.
A spokesperson for the bank, said: “The Co-operative Bank remains committed to the intermediary mortgage sector, via its dedicated broker lending arm Platform, and plans to significantly increase its lending in this market, with particular emphasis on buy to let lending, in 2012.”
A spokesperson said while the mortgage market remains challenging we regularly review our approach to mortgage lending across the entire business.
“Our lease at Platform’s main offices in Canary Wharf is coming to an end and after careful consideration we are proposing to exit these offices and move departments to locations across our existing estate, primarily in Manchester with some presence in London,” she said
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“As a result of these proposals, staff have now commenced consultation,” it said.
Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, said the consistent message from Platform has been about their intentions in the buy-to-let space.
“This is a bit of a bolt from the blue. Platform has been in the mix for a while. It’s not a peripheral buy-to-let player and this sector genuinely has potential, although time will tell.”
Nigel Stockton, financial services director at Countrywide, said lenders are still under some of the tightest ever funding strictures and you feel bad for those losing jobs.
But he added he expects bigger things from Platform.
“They are a trusted intermediary partner and it’ll be good to see what happens next,” he added.