Purplebricks has launched Purplebricks Mortgages Limited and retired the Strike Financial Services brand.
The move will see a team of more than 150 people operating under the Purplebricks Mortgages name, enabling customers to benefit from an end-to-end house buying solution on the Purplebricks platform.
The mortgage offering means consumers can complete their purchase journey with Purplebricks – from viewing and buying a property to securing the most suitable mortgage rates through the platform.
As Strike Financial Services, the business, we are told, has facilitated more than 315 new mortgages per month this year, and has offered 1,150 mortgages within an average of 15.33 days in 2024 to date. More than 330 mortgages have been offered to first time buyers in 2024, reflecting Purplebricks’ particular expertise in this area across its entire business.
Joanne Pocklington, MD of Purplebricks Mortgages, said: “Moving to the Purplebricks name is the next stage of our evolution in the Group. Over the past three years Strike Financial Services has become one of the UK’s leading mortgage advisers, recently winning Top Business for Quality at the Mortgage Advice Bureau Awards 2024.
“The process of finding the right mortgage is critical to supporting the growth in home ownership in the UK. At Purplebricks Mortgages we innately understand the housing market and use this expertise to benefit our customers every day. Not only can customers get the right deal, we’ve also streamlined the house buying process with Purplebricks to allow everything to be done under one umbrella.”
Sam Mitchell, CEO, Purplebricks, added: “The teams at Purplebricks and Strike will leverage their experience and knowledge in the property industry as we transition to Purplebricks Mortgages. In the latest step in the Purplebricks’ journey, we will continue to emphasise customer satisfaction and the dedication that runs throughout the business to innovate and challenge the process of buying and selling homes.
“With increased competition from banks on mortgage rates, our ambition is to show to buyers the range of trustworthy and expert lenders available to support them on what can be a stressful and costly journey.”
The online estate agency previously offered an in-house mortgage advice arm as part of its “turnaround plan” after falling into the red in 2022.
The launch came amid an effort by the business to diversify its revenue streams after recording a significant losses.
The plan, according to the now former chief executive Helena Marston, was to return to positive cash generation in early 2024. That failed to happen.
The troubled online estate agency agreed a deal to sell its business and assets to rival Strike last year, for the token sum of £1.
Oh dear PB what next dog grooming parlours?
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My advisor says they want such a big cut it’s not worth doing them. Customer pays more .
Wolf in wool as usual.
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150 people writing 315 mortgages a months. That’s 2 per individual per month and not only will this not cover the deficit in selling houses for free it also loses money as a standalone model. Congratulations PB that will burn through cash at an even faster rate!
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Not quite Agent008. I suspect 20% of their 150 staff undertake admin and compliance duties, leaving 120 writing 315 mortgages, so 2.65 mortgages per advisor. I suspect case sizes are small, if you go by the properties they list, so these advisors must be earning a pittance!
Shocking numbers however you look at it.
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Did all those sales for which they got a mortgage offer actually complete?
Are PB Mortgage’s advisors and administrators operating out of India? Might be able to stretch the procuration fees that way.
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