Harle to leave Mortgage Next as owner buys Mortgage Intelligence
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It was revealed on Wednesday that Mortgage Intelligence's former parent group Close Brothers had sold the firm to European Financial Solutions for an undisclosed sum.
While Mortgage Next and Mortgage Intelligence will remain separate brands, both will sit under the new umbrella group, Mortgage Intelligence Holdings.
As part of the deal Sally Laker, managing director of Mortgage Intelligence, becomes a stakeholder in Mortgage Intelligence Holdings and managing director of it.
The new company will be based in Bournemouth, Dorset at Mortgage Intelligence's current headquarters.
This means Mortgage Next's offices in Caterham, Surrey will be closed. Duplication in a number of roles has resulted in staff being placed in consultation.
Laker says: "Harle is going to help us with the handover but will then be moving on. Obviously we are now concentrating on getting the two firms together."
But she says that while the back office departments of the networks have merged there are no plans to ditch the Mortgage Next brand.
Laker adds: "It takes years to build a brand and we have no plans to get rid of the Mortgage Next brand. The two brands have a similar culture and offer quality service, which means that as the size of the network increases we will continue to focus on servicing high quality brokers.
"I believe the deal is a great fit and will enable both networks to go from strength to strength."
Harle says the merger represents a good deal for appointed representatives and that she is pleased to have been a part of it.
She adds: "I'm considering my options but will be around for quite some time in terms of the handover and making sure it goes smoothly."
The merger has been welcomed by the industry, with sources estimating that it makes Mortgage Intelligence Holdings comparable in size to Personal Touch Financial Services and Intrinsic.
Mortgage Intelligence Holdings will be made up of 320 AR firms with 525 business writers.
A further 12,000 directly authorised firms use Mortgage Intelligence's mortgage club.
European Financial Solutions Group of companies is a subsidiary of JZ International, the European affiliate of The Jordan Company - a New York-based investment partnership with funds of some $6bn under management.
Tony Machin, chief executive of European Financial Solutions and chairman of Mortgage Intelligence Holdings, says: "The combining of Mortgage Intelligence and Mortgage Next gives us a fantastic opportunity to develop both businesses while maintaining their professional ethos and high quality membership.
"It will deliver significant benefits for members."
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