A new specialised mortgage lender led by ex-Mortgages PLC boss Trevor Pothecary, is set to launch next month, targeting the self employed, people with complex incomes and those who require lending into retirement.
Billion pound backing for the mortgages comes from an un-named quoted fund, using a similar structure to how Fleet Mortgages was set up, according to Mr Pothecary.
Funding for the venture was met by the board and senior staff, which includes chief financial officer David Newman, chief operating officer Hugh Meechan, sales and marketing director Pete Thomson and chief administrative officer Alex Cameron - all former Mortgages PLC employees.
The Mortgage Lender’s initial product range is available up to 85 per cent loan-to-value with a two-year tracker that starts at 2.19 per cent, or as a two and five-year fix, with rates from 2.41 per cent.
The rate a borrower will receive is dependent on their credit history, which will place them in one of nine underwriting bands. Broker are able to submit, track and manage their applications online, as well as get immediate decisions in principle.
Available to home buyers and those who are remortgaging, the rates revert to Libor plus 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent at the end of the fixed rate or tracker period.
Mr Pothecary told FTAdviser launching the firm from scratch has given them the ability to design the systems and products demanded by today’s brokers and borrowers.
“We saw gaps and restrictions in the lending criteria of the mainstream market, so will be focusing on serving he needs of the self employed, people with complex incomes and those who require lending into retirement.”
In February, Mr Pothecary announced plans to launch the intermediary-only firm with former board members of Mortgages PLC, which was launched in 1997.
It went on to become a leader in the specialist lending market, securitising over £7bn of mortgages and lending around £2bn a year.
The firm was sold to Japanese-financed Majestic Acquisitions in January 2002, then in 2004 it was acquired by Merrill Lynch, which stopped lending through the brand in 2008 due to market conditions.
Mr Pothecary revealed a few years ago he tried to buy Mortgage PLC back from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, but after failing, he reunited with some of his former team and in 2014 started working on plans for a new lender.
Earlier this month, the Glasgow-based lender appointed former Barclays Bank and Nationwide sales and relationship manager Paula Priest as its as head of sales, responsible for its key account managers and establishing close relationships with networks, distributors and mortgage clubs.
“We aim to create partnerships with brokers by being innovative in our offering and simplistic in the way that brokers interact and get a decision from us,” she commented at the time.
Already announced are its mortgage club product partners: SimplyBiz Mortgages, Paradigm Mortgage Services, The Mortgage Alliance, 3MC and Residential Home Loans.
In addition to the mortgage clubs, the firm will initially work with five or six specialist packagers and two or three networks, before looking to expand later in the year.
Mr Thomson added the firm has appointed two new staff to give broker support in the south of England, working alongside Ms Priest in the Midlands and David Eaves in the north of England, all supported by phone-based staff in Glasgow.
peter.walker@ft.com
