Online mortgage broker Habito has named a chief executive and announced an inflow of investment following the closure of its latest funding round.
Former Dynamo chief executive, Ying Tan is to take the head position at Habito and will become a “significant shareholder” in the business.
Tan’s appointment, subject to approval from the Financial Conduct Authority, follows existing chief executive Daniel Hegarty departure after seven years in the role.
The news comes as the online brokerage closed its latest round of funding, which was led by Tan and supported by Habito’s existing investors, Augmentum Fintech, SBI Investment, Volution and Bootstrap Europe.
Hegarty said: “Over the past seven years, we’ve been on a mission to make the process of owning and financing a home easier.
"Habito has helped more than half a million people with their mortgage needs and has doubled down on customer service during a period of great change and uncertainty in the UK housing market.”
“Leading such a passionate, skilled and dedicated team during this time has been an honour. I’m tremendously proud of all that we’ve achieved together and I’m excited for all that the future holds for Habito. Ying is a mortgage industry titan and a phenomenal operator and I can’t think of a leader better suited to the role,” he added.
Tan, who is a qualified accountant and former investment banker at Goldman Sachs, said he has admired Habito since its launch in 2016 and added that he is “thrilled to have the opportunity to take the company to the next level”.
“With the cost of living biting, energy prices sky-rocketing and interest rates at historic highs, it’s more important than ever for UK mortgage-holders and first time homeowners to have access to the very best mortgage and home-buying advice,” he said.
Tan, who has 20 years experience in the mortgage industry, founded mortgage brokerage, Dynamo, in 2006 and grew it to 200 staff before exiting to Connells in 2021.
Since then, he has invested in a number of fintech businesses including Propflo and Knowledge Bank, where he is currently non-executive chair.
Penny Desborough, will also join Habito’s senior leadership team as VP of Operations.
Following his departure from Habito, Daniel Hegarty plans to focus on his advisory roles, investment portfolio and a new fintech start-up.
Last year, it was announced that Habito was to cut the majority of its broker team.
The entire broker team was "put on risk", according to two people familiar with the matter.
The announcement led some in the industry to question whether the online broker model is “flawed”.
According to the company’s latest set of accounts, Habito remains loss-making.
jane.matthews@ft.com
