Just Mortgages, the financial advisory business of estate agency chain Spicerhaart, is to become an appointed representative of Openwork.
It will mean Just Mortgages, which has more than 130 advisers, will become Openwork’s largest mortgage-focused AR firm.
The company will join Openwork in March 2016 from Legal & General.
Antony Lark, managing director of Just Mortgages, said: “I have been working with Openwork for more than a year on this and I am pleased we have been able to strike up this partnership.
“We thought long and hard about the best route to take and met with a number of different networks and mortgage clubs, but determined that Openwork’s network model is the best fit for our business now and into the future.”
John Phillips, national operations director of Spicerhaart, said: “Openwork has a cutting edge point of sale system, which will enable our brokers to transact business more efficiently.
“Just Mortgages and the wider Spicerhaart Group have exciting plans for growth and we see a strong alignment to Openwork and significant opportunities for both parties to build value.”
As part of the move, Just Mortgages will retain a single-tie arrangement with L&G for protection, while its advisers will have full access to Openwork’s whole-of-market mortgage proposition.
Just Mortgages currently serves Spicerhaart clients across its estate agencies including haart, Darlows, Felicity J Lord, Haybrook, Chewton Rose and Spicer McColl.
Mark Duckworth, chief executive of Openwork, said: “Just Mortgages is a well-established advisory firm operating through one of the UK’s largest and best-known estate agents and I’m thrilled to welcome its management team and advisers to the network.
“This is a compelling partnership that will enable Just Mortgages to benefit from our whole-of-market mortgage proposition and market clout – we expect to complete over £10bn of mortgages this year – while adding to Openwork’s stable of fantastically run adviser firms.”
Just Mortgages joins Openwork, just three months after John Cupis joined as mortgage director, in a move that completed the restructure of the network’s core distribution business.
He joined Openwork from Sesame Bankhall Group, having been managing director of mortgages for eight years until the start of September when it was announced he was parting ways with the Friends Life-owned intermediary.
His replacement at Sesame Bankhall Lisa Martin left just three weeks after being promoted to replace Mr Cupis.
