One of the Home of Choice bidders revealed
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The Money Group’s managing director Tony Murtagh has confirmed to Mortgage Strategy that he has made a bid for Home of Choice but it has not yet been accepted by the network’s board.
Murtagh says he has made a bid for the network which would mean all the network’s liabilities and broker commissions would be paid, but he has told Mortgage Strategy that another offer is on the table but will only be made if the network first goes into administration.
LSL Property Services is also believed to be a name in the frame and looking at acquiring the network.
Murtagh would not reveal how much he has bid for Home of Choice but says it is the asking price requested by the network’s majority shareholder Lloyds Banking Group.
If successful he says he would cut costs at the network, including some of the directors and make it into a profitable business.
He is currently applying to the FSA to change the network’s permissions but says this could take two or three days which he has been told by Home of Choice’s directors is too long.
He says: “My bid allows the network to stay out of administration but I have been told part of the reason it has not been accepted is because it is unclear how long it will take for the change in FSA permission to be processed. However I have spoken to the FSA and it has said this can be done within two to three days.”
Between 1995 and 2004 Murtagh built The Mortgage Group into the UK’s largest specialist mortgage broker, with over 800 staff he then sold the company to GE Money in 2004.
Murtagh set up The Money Group, based on a similar business model to The Mortgage Group. The Money Group specialises in remortgages and debt management. He has also recently acquired Manchester based companies Bollin Finance and Advanced Debt Solutions, and his business interests are being rebranded as Fresh Start Finance.
More to follow..
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Readers' comments (7)
Anonymous | 4 May 2010 10:41 am
I was looking forward to this communication but now I'm not sure!
Is it good news?
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Anonymous | 4 May 2010 10:54 am
Lets make sure the Directors act in the best interest of tghe existing share holders not themsel.........
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John Reid | 4 May 2010 11:29 am
How on earth are you going to Stop the directors acting in their best interests? If you notice in this article, the directors do not have a say in this any. If you notice they state the fee in which Lloyds TSB have told them. Lloyds TSB are running this and they are the ones that stopped the sdministrators coming in becasue they would lose their money. You will note LSL has already done a deal with Lloyds in the past fo the estate agencies for £1. This is a deal done by Lloyds TSB for the benefit of Lloyds TSB and nothing else.
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Anonymous | 4 May 2010 12:00 pm
The directors have to operate within the insovency rules..they are continuing under there duties for the protection of the creditors only. If they vote to save themselves and this is proven to be against the creditors best interest they will be in serious trouble.If only one bid protects the "creditors",they have to vote for it..simple.Ask them to make both bids public and explain their choice ?
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Peter Wilson | 4 May 2010 1:29 pm
Tony Murtagh has the abilities and dynamics to turn HOC around. He would be a breath of fresh air and his innovative ideas would prove successful. Good luck Tony .
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Chris Hulme - HoC AR | 4 May 2010 1:29 pm
As John mentions above, LTSB are partly in control here and are protecting their own interests rather than anything else. If HoC does go into Administration, they will be creditors just the same as the AR's and will be lucky if they see 10 or 20 pence in the pound.
The Directors NEED to confirm whether the LSL bid will put HoC into Administration - if this is the case, it cannot be in the creditors best interests.
It will also be interesting to know whether the overdrawn Directors Loan Account in the name of "R Coulson" will be repaid?
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Anonymous | 4 May 2010 2:13 pm
Can I ask for some help and advice out there- I am a HOC AR and have a stack of business outstanding waiting to be done- how long do I hold of before jumping ship- I am not giving 1 more piece of biz until all commissions are back dated and we have future assurances. This is a worrying and frustrating time for us all and I really hope we get some answers very soon cos it is seriously another wasted day of ifs and buts with a few maybes thrown in for good measure!!!!!!!!!
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