Equity release referrals are expanding rapidly as intermediaries look for specialist independent advice for customers accessing property wealth, according to data from referral service Key Partnerships.
The company encountered growth of more than 71 per cent in 2016 with referral customers releasing an average £100,598 – nearly double the £55,260 on average released by customers going direct to equity release advisers, according to Key Partnerships.
As a result of the surge, the company said it was increasingly focussing on customers referred by introducers and has allocated a number of dedicated Key Retirement advisers to this platform.
These advisers have been proactive in working closely with introducers and demonstrating how equity release referrals can be used to expand their customer proposition and create a profitable new revenue stream.
Will Hale, director at Key Partnerships, said: “2016 was a breakthrough year for the industry as it broke through the £2bn mark providing a strong platform for further expansion in 2017.
“There are more opportunities for innovation in equity release market than ever before with the ongoing impact of interest-only mortgages coming to maturity and pension freedoms starting to have a major impact.”
Key Partnerships is a business to business referral service which providers whole of market equity release solutions for introducers and their clients, through parent company Key Retirement.
Patrick Connolly, certified financial planner at Chase De Vere, said: “Equity release is a market that has to grow in the coming years. There are more and more people who have a lot of their wealth tied up in residential property and are faced with a challenge of generating an income in retirement.
“A problem with equity release at the moment is that the perceptions of it are still negative, people think of the products as being expensive and inflexible, but as the demand grows competition in the market will continue to grow and what that should also mean is much better value for consumers.”
