Mortgage broker Tembo buys lifetime ISA provider Nude Finance

Mortgage broker Tembo buys lifetime ISA provider Nude Finance

Tembo, which created an AI tool last year, expects that the acquisition will bolster its proposition that aims to help first-time buyers find alternative homeownership options through family and affordability boosting mortgages. 

Nude Finance’s lifetime ISA can be used by potential first-time buyers to save towards a deposit and its platform allows users to track their progress. Savers can receive a 25 per cent bonus from the government on top of their savings to increase their deposit. 

 

The acquisition

The acquisition has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and will see Tembo acquire 100 per cent of the shares in Nude Finance. 

Jenny Watts, chair of Tembo, will also become chair of the Nude Finance Board and Richard Dana, CEO of Tembo, will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the business. Crawford Taylor will step down as Nude CEO but continue to advise the team. 

Tembo will continue to be supported by its investors including Aviva, Ascension and Fair By Design, Love Ventures and the McPike Family Office.  

The firm said the transaction will allow Tembo to build on its success of last year and achieve double-digit monthly growth throughout 2024. 

Dana (pictured) said: “We’re delighted to now be able to offer our customers access to an award-winning savings product. Crawford and his brilliant team have built an engaged and loyal customer base of future first-time buyers and we look forward to continuing to grow and develop the business in the future.

“We’ve already been working with Nude over the past year and there is huge synergy in helping savings customers as they navigate the mortgage and homebuyer process. The broader Tembo proposition puts home at the heart of personal wealth – for most people and their families their most treasured and valuable asset.” 

Taylor added: “I started Nude to make a difference to people’s lives. Nude is a financial friend that’s really good with money, who’s there 24/7. The Nude team has built a unique proposition that is resonating in the market, changing the way people interact with the financial system.  

“Nude helps people set a goal, engaging and motivating them and being with them every step of the way, starting with homeownership. Tembo has a very similar approach centred around home ownership, and the acquisition is a perfect fit led by three very talented founders.” 

LSL completes TenetLime acquisition

LSL completes TenetLime acquisition

The acquisition was announced in August last year after Tenet Group announced a strategic review of its business which included the disposal of its networks. LSL acquired 133 AR advisers in the process. 

The acquisition completed on Friday. 

Jon Round, group financial services director at LSL, said: “I am delighted to welcome the TenetLime businesses and advisers into the Primis Network. It has been a real pleasure for myself and my colleagues to meet so many of the Tenet advisers at our recent series of regional events and we look forward to supporting their 2024 plans.  

“Primis has seen significant organic and acquisitive growth over many years, and I am pleased to be able to extend the Primis proposition to yet another set of firms and advisers.” 

In a trading update last week, LSL said its financial services network division has seen a growth in its market share of the purchase and remortgage sector to 10.7 per cent in 2023.  

It also pointed to the impending completion of the TenetLime buyout, saying the business was “on track to deliver the planned business benefits.” 

Royal London completes Responsible Group acquisition

Royal London completes Responsible Group acquisition

The acquisition will build on Royal London’s existing 40 per cent stake in the business and will allow the company to “increase support for the Responsible Group in delivering innovative later life solutions and scale the provision of later life lending in what it believes will be a growing market”.

The company confirmed its plans to buy Responsible Group at the tail-end of last year, with Royal London saying at the time that the move would strengthen its support for advisers and customers looking for later life solutions.

Equally at the same time, Responsible Group said that the acquisition would help integrate pension wealth and property wealth for advisers and clients.

Responsible Group includes later life lender Responsible Lending and later life adviser Responsible Life.

Carlton Hood, group chief executive officer, Responsible, said: “I am delighted that the acquisition of Responsible by Royal London is now complete. As we embark on the next chapter, Responsible will benefit from being part of the UK’s largest life, pensions and investment mutual.

“Looking ahead, we will be working closely with our colleagues at Royal London to bring the consideration of pension wealth and property wealth together for advisers and clients, and to ensure the advisers we support, and the customers they serve, have access to the most comprehensive range of later life lending solutions tailored to meet their retirement needs.”

Steve Wilkie, executive chairman and co-founder, Responsible, added: “It’s been an extraordinary privilege to collaborate with an outstanding team, whose unwavering dedication has played a pivotal role in propelling Responsible’s growth, firmly establishing its position as a leading force in the later-life lending sector.

“Now that my co-founder, Paul Starkey, and I have handed over the reins to Royal London, we are genuinely excited to witness the ongoing evolution and success of the company under their capable stewardship.”

Pivotal Growth buys two Northern Irish firms

Pivotal Growth buys two Northern Irish firms

The two businesses are based in Northern Ireland and were founded by Keith Jannath.

Select Mortgages and Financial Solutions is based in Lisburn and was founded in 2003. It derives income from mortgage broking as well as protection such as life cover, critical illness, income protection and business assurance.

Select Brokers is headquartered in Banbridge. The company was formed by the director of Select Mortgages in 2016 to complement its original offering by offering personal and commercial insurance product, such as landlord and property, home, motor and business liability insurance

Pivotal Growth was founded in 2021 as part of a £200m joint venture broker between LSL and Pollen Street Capital.

In that time, the firm has acquired 10 businesses including the two mentioned. Companies include Scottish mortgage broker Lifetime Finance Group, Grange Mortgage and Protection Services, The Loan Partnership and The Buy to Let Broker.

LSL also sold its broker firms to Pivotal Growth last year, including its new-build broker firms, Group First and RSC, and then Embrace Financial Services and First2Protect.

The company said at the time that the move would simplify its group and take advantage of “exciting opportunities” across divisions, as well as develop LSL’s position of a “leading provider of services” to independent mortgage brokers.

Simon Embley, chief executive officer of Pivotal Growth, said: “I am delighted to welcome Select Mortgages and Select Brokers into Pivotal Growth. Keith has done a fantastic job growing both businesses and, as a result, has ensured strong customer loyalty to the brands and high client retention rates. I am looking forward to working with Keith and the management team to further grow our footprint in Northern Ireland.”

Hannath added: “We are extremely proud and excited to be a part of the Pivotal Growth stable. We are looking forward to working with Simon and his team to grow the businesses in Northern Ireland and integrate best practices from other firms in the Pivotal Group.”

TMG Mortgage Network acquires Largemortgageloans.com

TMG Mortgage Network acquires Largemortgageloans.com

The network said it was able to keep on the firm’s advisers. 

TMG said this formed part of the network’s expansion plans and strengthened “its position as a key player in the mortgage industry”. 

Largemortgageloans.com was launched in 2003 and catered to high-net-worth-individuals looking for residential, commercial, bridging, buy-to-let and equity release finance. 

In August, it announced it had ceased operations. 

Scott Thorpe, CEO of TMG Mortgage Network, said: “We are thrilled to have been able to complete on this transaction, whilst retaining the advisers. 

“This acquisition aligns perfectly with our growth strategy as we, establish ourselves as the go-to mortgage network in the south.” 

Pexa makes £31m offer for Smoove

Pexa makes £31m offer for Smoove

The terms of the acquisition state that the shareholders of Smoove will receive 54 pence for each share they hold. This values the company at £30.8m on a fully diluted basis, or the total number of available outstanding shares. 

Smoove’s board of directors will recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the agreement at its next meetings. 

If approved, the acquisition is expected to complete in the final quarter of this year and will be funded by cash held by Pexa. 

Pexa said the acquisition of Smoove would allow it to expand its presence in the UK by giving it access to the firms on Smoove’s platform and its market share. 

It will also allow Pexa to cross-sell to the panel firms of Smoove. 

Pexa entered the UK market last year with its digital property exchange platform that aims to shorten the remortgage process.  

Glenn King, CEO and managing director of Pexa Group, said: “The acquisition is aligned with Pexa Group’s strategy of enhancing and leveraging our property exchange know-how to deliver growth from different markets, including in other Torrens title jurisdictions, starting with the UK. 

“Since entering the UK market, the Pexa Group has launched its first remortgage product, successfully brought two lenders onto the Pexa platform and acquired and progressed integration of specialist remortgage conveyancer, Optima Legal.”  

He added: “The acquisition and integration of Smoove into the Pexa UK business will further help us address the many detriments suffered by consumers due to the UK’s fragmented, inefficient conveyancing processes.  

“The acquisition will allow us to build additional scale and depth in the UK market, enabling the Pexa product suite to reach more customers, whilst streamlining and improving the UK property transaction experience.” 

Aviva buys AIG’s UK protection business for £460m

Aviva buys AIG’s UK protection business for £460m

The insurer Aviva said that it had delivered “strong organic growth” through its protection business, adding that it also offered “high quality customer propositions and continual improvements to the experience of customers and intermediaries”.

The acquisition will benefit AIG Life UK customers due to Aviva’s “expertise and financial strength”.

AIG Life UK has around 1.3 million individual protection customers and 1.4 million group protection members.

Aviva said that AIG Life UK complemented the firm’s approach with a “focus on innovative solutions and strong partnership distribution”.

The company added: “The combined protection business will benefit from AIG Life UK’s successful SME and high-net-worth propositions and will reach more customers through AIG Life UK’s relationships with regional and corporate IFAs, as well as other key partners. The combined businesses will create a more efficient platform from which to serve existing and new customers.”

The transaction is being funded through “internal resources” and is expected to close in the first half of next year.

Amanda Blanc, group chief executive officer of Aviva, said: “This acquisition brings significant strategic and financial benefits to Aviva. It strengthens our prospects in the highly attractive UK protection market and continues our progress in repositioning the group towards capital-light growth. We look forward to welcoming our new customers and colleagues to Aviva.”

Arrow Global acquires Maslow Capital

Arrow Global acquires Maslow Capital

Arrow Global specialises in credit and real estate. It purchased a minority stake in Maslow Capital in 2021 and over that time, the lender’s loan book has expanded. 

Maslow Capital was founded in 2009 and offers loans ranging between £10m to £300m to small and large residential developers. 

It has provided finance for developments with a value of over £5.1bn, accounting for around 17,500 units across 257 projects. 

The acquisition is expected to strengthen Arrow’s lending strategy and existing investment as well as expand its lending across the UK. Maslow Capital will continue to be led by chairman Marc Rose and CEO Ellis Sher, who will oversee the expansion of its reach across Europe through Arrow’s network. 

Zach Lewy, group CEO and CIO of Arrow Global, said: “Arrow invests across European geographies, asset classes and positions in the capital stack. To execute this strategy, we have developed our geographical and asset class expertise. Maslow is an accretive addition to our existing direct lending strategy which includes specialist mortgage and term products through RNHB.  

“Being part of the Arrow platform will allow Maslow to expand its services across Europe. We are delighted to announce the full acquisition.” 

Marc Rose and Ellis Sher, chairman and CEO of Maslow Capital, jointly said: “We look forward to leveraging Arrow’s deep platform capabilities across Europe and to develop Maslow into a leading pan-European real estate finance provider.  

“This acquisition marks the beginning of our broader strategy to offer adaptable, innovative, and timely real estate financing solutions throughout Europe’s living sectors, using Arrow’s extensive resources and capital to create value for all stakeholders.” 

Howden Group acquires Irish mortgage broker Finance Solutions

Howden Group acquires Irish mortgage broker Finance Solutions

The firm was founded in 2011 by Ken Murray and provides mortgage broking services, advice on life cover, income protection, investments and pensions. It has 40 members of staff and around 7,000 clients. 

This follows Howden’s acquisition of SPF Private Clients last year, and the two firms will work closely together going forward. It also marks Howden’s further expansion into the mortgage market. 

The group purchased insurance broking group Aston Lark in 2021, and following the recent agreement Aston Lark Ireland will rebrand to Howden Ireland. Finance Solutions will sit within this structure. 

The deal is subject to regulatory approval. 

 

‘One of the best mortgage brokers in Ireland’

Robert Kennedy, Aston Lark Ireland CEO, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Ken and all the team at Finance Solutions on board. Finance Solutions is a stand-out business in its sector, highly regarded as one of the best mortgage brokers in Ireland, and passionate about delivering the very best outcomes for clients.  

“Their reputation and shared value of care – care for our clients and people make them a fantastic addition to the Aston Lark and Howden business.” 

Mark Harris, chief executive of SPF Private Clients, said: “We are looking forward to working closely with Ken and his team in helping them develop their proposition, given the similarities between our markets.” 

Ken Murray, founder and managing director of Finance Solutions, added: “Our growth over the past 12 years has exceeded expectations, and this acquisition allows us to further accelerate that growth. It is a significant milestone for Finance Solutions and will cement our position as one of Ireland’s leading mortgage brokers. It demonstrates the confidence that exists in our offering, our people and in the opportunities for growth within the market here.  

“Aston Lark and Howden’s experience, network and support will enable us to create more choices and an even better experience for our valued customers while still retaining the trusted advice and personal touch for which Finance Solutions is known.” 

Top 10 most read mortgage broker stories this week – 18/08/2023

Top 10 most read mortgage broker stories this week – 18/08/2023

Inflation and wage figures, along with conditional selling and the lull in activity in August were among most read this week.

Falling interest-only mortgage figures and The Co-operative Bank signing an agreement to buy Sainsbury Bank’s mortgage portfolio also ranked highly on most read.

 

Paragon cut two-year fixed rates

 

Lenders ‘fighting for market position’ as Barclays cuts mortgage rates

 

Mortgage broker Koodoo develops AI tool which can pass CeMAP

 

Fewer than one million interest-only mortgages outstanding

 

Brokers welcome ‘dead’ August as chance to recharge before market returns ‒ analysis

 

Brokers warn conditional selling becoming more prevalent as Connells under fire

 

Falling house prices prompt some homeowners to pick product transfers – analysis

 

Record wage growth and sticky inflation could push Bank of England base rate beyond 5.5 per cent

 

The Co-operative Bank agrees to buy Sainsbury’s Bank mortgage portfolio

Natwest to lower select rates by up to 0.45 per cent