The franchise group brands include CJ Hole, Hunters and Martin and Co. They complete sales on around 23,000 properties per annum and manage over 73,000 tenanted properties.
TPFG franchisees will be offered a range of advice options through LSL’s mortgage network Primis. Franchisees can either take on their own mortgage adviser and become an Appointed Representative (AR) of Primis, or refer their customers to existing Primis ARs, including LSL’s in-house mortgage brokers.
LSL is already one of the largest providers of services to mortgage intermediaries and mortgage and protection advice to estate agency customers through its own agencies, completing £32.6bn of mortgages in 2020. It currently represents around nine per cent of the total purchase and remortgage market with over 2,600 advisers.
LSL operates a network of 226 owned and 130 franchised estate agency branches, with brands that include Your Move, Reeds Rains and Marsh & Parsons.
Market growth through digital
LSL said this agreement should underline further growth of its financial services businesses after an 12 to 18-month investment period requiring one-off transition and integration costs.
The agreement covers the five year period to April 2026 and LSL will be offering a digitally-driven service which combines face-to-face advisers with a central team providing video and telephone advice, all supported by Mortgage Gym technology, acquired in February 2021. The Mortgage Gym technology confirms mortgage eligibility within 60 seconds, matching borrowers to potential lenders and will drive broker productivity, according to LSL.
LSL said: “The customer relationship management system helps engage customers at the right time and quickly and cost-effectively confirms mortgage eligibility of a potential house purchaser, including the likely sums that could be borrowed, adding confidence and budget clarity to the buying process.”
Face-to-face advice will be provided by introduction to local advisers with franchisees also having the option to offer mortgage and protection advice as an AR of Primis Mortgage Network. LSL is already recruiting the additional advisers required to meet the rising referrals from around 23,000 annual house sales, with the service expected to be fully operational by 2021-end.
LSL and TPFG also plan to collaborate on a specialist buy-to-let advice service for landlords to service both groups’ customers.
David Stewart, group chief executive officer of LSL, said: “We have previously set out our ambition to accelerate the growth in our financial services division including Primis Mortgage Network and this agreement underlines the scale of this opportunity.”
Gareth Samples, group chief executive officer of The Property Franchise Group, said: “Together we will develop a new digital mortgage journey that really meets the needs of our customers and our franchisees. I believe LSL has an unparalleled understanding of how to provide high quality mortgage and protection advice to estate agency customers and I look forward to building a market-leading digital and face-to-face service to the significant benefit of both groups.”
LSL’s preliminary results are out tomorrow.
