The move follows the purchase of a 60 per cent stake in Direct Life and Pensions earlier this year, which the group has now revealed cost £1.8m.
The property services group, which includes mortgage club TMA and network Primis, said the purchases were part of its digital strategy to drive growth in its financial services division.
LSL completed the purchase of Mortgage Gym from the administrator by offsetting its position as a secured creditor – it first invested in the business in 2018.
Mortgage Gym launched as an online adviser and developed a digital platform that confirms mortgage eligibility within 60 seconds, matching borrowers with lenders.
However, it recorded a pre-tax loss of £3.9m for the year ended 31 December 2019, at which date it had gross assets of £1.5m.
“The reported losses in 2020 are expected to be considerably lower and we expect the Mortgage Gym technology to contribute positively to group profitability once it is fully deployed,” LSL said.
New build rollout
LSL has been using the Mortgage Gym software in the new build market and said the purchase would allow it to rollout the service quicker and to improve the service proposition to developers, giving the opportunity to grow market share in this sector.
“It will also bring significant benefits to Embrace Financial Services, increasing the efficiency and productivity of advisers working with LSL and third-party estate agency offices,” LSL added.
LSL group chief executive officer David Stewart said: “These important acquisitions will help LSL drive further growth in financial services, which is at the heart of our strategy.
“They provide us with market-leading digital capability, and I am delighted that we have been able to complete these deals.”
