A Derby mortgage broker has agreed to take over a Scottish headquartered counterpart in a move which values the business at more than £20 million.
Mortgage Advice Bureau, which is based on Pride Park, is set to buy an 80% stake in First Mortgage Direct.
Headquartered in Edinburgh, First Mortgage Direct has branches across Scotland as well as in London, Newcastle, York, Birmingham, Gateshead, Manchester, Southampton, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Liverpool and also covers West Yorkshire.
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Mortgage Advice Bureau, which provides a range of mortgage services, has agreed to snap up a majority stake in the business for an initial cash consideration of £16.5 million. The deal is expected to be completed on July 1.
The firm added that it had entered into an option agreement with First Mortgage Direct’s Ian McGrail to acquire the remaining 20% of the company between 2024 and 2030.
In a statement Mortgage Advice Bureau said: “The directors believe that the acquisition presents Mortgage Advice Bureau with significant additional growth opportunities.
“The acquisition will enable Mortgage Advice Bureau to further grow its adviser numbers and market share, in addition to its core growth plans, and will also add another highly respected and leading mortgage broker to the group.
“First Mortgage’s omni-channel growth strategy, and particularly its telephony strategy, will be leveraged further through the planned deployment and rollout of Mortgage Advice Bureau’s new technology, building on the expertise in both businesses and enabling the acceleration of the respective businesses’ ambitious growth plans.”
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Ben Thompson, managing director at Mortgage Advice Bureau, said: “This acquisition is central and complementary to our strategic objective to grow our market share of new mortgage lending.
“First Mortgage is a highly reputable, forward thinking business of significant scale with a clear strategy to deliver further strong year on year growth.
“This enables us to pursue at pace our aim to accelerate group growth through excelling in areas of specialisation, and in particular, building on our omni-channel choice for customers.
“I am delighted that Ian has chosen to work with us, to help us both to really accelerate our respective growth plans and am excited at the prospect of making this highly successful and enjoyable for both teams.”