European Financial Solutions buys Mortgage Intelligence
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The group says this is part of its long term strategy to expand its network proposition and that it was logical to combine Mortgage Intelligence and Mortgage Next.
The two brands will continue to operate separately but under the new umbrella of Mortgage Intelligence Holdings.
Mortgage Intelligence Holdings will join the European Financial Solutions Group of companies which is a subsidiary of JZ International.
The new head office will be based in Bournemouth, Dorset and Tony Machin, CEO of European Financial Solutions, will also become chairman of Mortgage Intelligence Holdings working closely with Mortgage Intelligence's managing director Sally Laker.
The combined business will have approximately 500 appointed representatives and 12,000 directly authorised brokers.
Industry sources say the deal, which has been on the cards since before Christmas, puts Mortgage Intelligence in the big league of networks and "of a comparable size to the likes of Intrinsic and Personal Touch Financial Services".
Sally Laker will become a shareholder and managing director of Mortgage Intelligence Holdings Limited with responsibility for running the combined business.
She says she's delighted with this deal and with being part of such a strong and dynamic organisation as European Financial Solutions. She says she is looking forward to working with a strong team to create the UK’s leading quality mortgage network.
She says: "The two brands have a similar culture and deliver a quality service which means that as the overall size of the network increases we will continue to focus on servicing high quality brokers. I believe the deal is a great fit that will enable both networks to go from strength to strength.”
EFS, its management and JZI hold interests in mortgage and finance businesses in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Spain and Ireland.
JZI is the European affiliate of The Jordan Company, an investment partnership, based in New York, with funds under management of US$6 billion.
Tony Machin, chief executive of European Financial Solutions, says: “The combining of Mortgage Intelligence and Mortgage Next provides us with a fantastic opportunity to grow and develop both businesses, but at the same time maintain the same professional ethos and high quality membership.
" The bringing together of these companies is the ideal match and will deliver significant benefits for current members and at the same time enable both brands to offer an even more attractive proposition to new members. It also enables both businesses to benefit from economies of scale.”
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