The British Mortgage Award-winning group, Simply Finance, launched in 2006 by founding directors Peter Williams and Ben Larkin, has over 30 financial advisers.
The deal means John Charcol’s CEO, Simon Knight, (pictured) and managing director, Walter Avrili, will join the Simply Finance board and secures John Charcol over 115 mortgage advisers.
Williams and Larkin will join the senior management team at John Charcol.
Charcol’s Knight said: “The acquisition of Simply Finance is a key part of our growth strategy giving us immediate increased capacity, an extension to our customer proposition, and capabilities that complement our existing areas of strength. Both Peter and Ben are entrepreneurs who have successfully built a hugely impressive business supported by a great team of people, with lots of potential to continue to grow.”
Knight said Charcol’s advisers have always been largely a London and south east, telephony-focused firm but this move extends its reach geographically and to field-based advice.
He said the macro drivers including the incoming Stamp Duty changes in April and further out the buy-to-let tax relief changes from 2017 will drive down buy-to-let rental yields making the outlook for a tight geographic focus on London and the South East look less robust.
The firm has begun its drive toward ‘brand maximisation’, the CEO told Mortgage Solutions.
Williams added: “John Charcol is a natural partner for us as we enter our next phase of growth. It is a growth-orientated business with a clear strategy led by an exceptional management team. This is a great deal for our staff and customers enabling us to invest further in areas of the business where we can offer a winning mortgage proposition.”
Towergate sold John Charcol in a £8.64m deal in March last year to Palatine Private Equity.
Charcol arranged £2bn of mortgage completions for almost 6,000 clients in 2015, brought in new technology systems and made 32 senior hires over the year.
In November 2015, John Charcol signed an exclusive agreement with US estate agency firm Coldwell Banker to offer high-net worth mortgage advice in its UK estate agency branches after launching into the UK two months before.
The New Jersey-based firm has aggressive expansion plans, targeting 50 franchise offices across the UK.
