FCA Authorised Mortgage Brokerage & Principal Network

Opportunity Summary

An opportunity to acquire a long-established, directly authorised mortgage and protection brokerage that also operates as a principal firm supporting a national community of appointed representatives and individual representatives. The business combines retail mortgage and protection advice with recurring adviser oversight, compliance support and commission administration.

Key Metric Summary

Location: South of England; advisers and customers served throughout the UK

Business model: Whole-of-market mortgage and protection brokerage plus principal/network income

Current adviser structure: 7 appointed representative firms and 11 individual representatives stated by management

Annual mortgage lending: Approximately £250 million arranged

Latest 12-month turnover: Approximately £1.05 million, unaudited

Client activity: Approximately 1,500 pieces of business and 1,065 clients assisted annually

Customer database: Approximately 8,800 clients and 12,000 historic transactions

Transaction: Sale of 100% of the issued share capital, subject to regulatory approval

Investment Highlights

·         Established FCA-authorised platform with permissions covering regulated mortgage contracts, non-investment insurance and lifetime mortgages.

·         Two complementary revenue channels: direct broking and income retained from self-employed advisers and appointed representative firms.

·         Broad lender and insurer access, with strong commercial relationships and key-account status reported with a number of major UK lenders.

·         National delivery model with advisers working predominantly remotely, allowing the business to serve customers across the UK and expatriate British clients overseas.

·         High level of repeat and referral business; management estimates approximately 60% of cases come from repeat customers.

·         Detailed onboarding, competence, file-review and quality-assurance processes, supported by pre-sale and post-sale compliance checking.

·         Meaningful scope to recruit additional advisers under the current growth plan and improve adviser productivity, particularly protection penetration.

·         Current shareholder/director is willing to discuss a managed handover and potential continuing broking and/or regulatory oversight role.

The Business

The company operates in two connected areas. First, it provides whole-of-market mortgage and protection advice to consumers, including residential mortgages, re-mortgages, buy-to-let, bridging, development finance, commercial mortgages, second charges, further advances and lifetime mortgages. Secondly, it acts as a directly authorised principal firm, providing regulatory oversight and ongoing compliance support to self-employed advisers and appointed representative firms across the UK.

The business receives lender and insurer commission centrally, together with customer broker fees and monthly adviser/network fees. Self-employed advisers are paid under tiered commission arrangements, while the company retains a proportion of gross mortgage and protection commission and broker fees to fund compliance, professional indemnity insurance, FCA levies and central support.

Customers and Market Position

·         Approximately 1,500 pieces of mortgage and protection business written annually.

·         Approximately 1,065 customers assisted each year.

·         Estimated 8,800 clients and 12,000 historic transactions held within the wider database.

·         Approximate annual case mix includes first-time buyers, home movers, re-mortgages, buy-to-let, product transfers, lifetime mortgages and specialist lending.

·         The majority of business is generated from referrals and repeat customers, reducing reliance on any single paid lead source or introducer.

Financial Overview

The following figures are drawn from the statutory accounts supplied for the year ended 31 July 2024 and the shareholders’ latest unaudited trading information. The year ended July 2024 included income from a large adviser firm that was subsequently exited, and management considers the latest twelve-month turnover to be more representative of the continuing business.

Period | Turnover | Operating profit | Profit after tax

Year ended 31 July 2023 £1,083,432

Year ended 31 July 2024 £2,042,846

Year ended 31 July 2025 £1,101,617

12 months to 31 July 2026 £1,049,992 to be confirmed

Management states that approximately one quarter of annual revenue is represented by business in the pipeline at a given time. The latest revenue mix supplied was approximately 73% mortgage commission, 19% protection commission, 7% broker fees and 1% monthly adviser/network fees.

Adviser Economics

The adviser model is based principally on self-employed advisers. The company receives commissions and fees before accounting to each adviser. Management has supplied a tiered retention structure, together with monthly fees for certain advisers. Advisers generally meet their own CRM and identity-verification costs, while the company funds professional indemnity insurance, regulatory levies and central compliance oversight.

Compliance Infrastructure

The business has documented entry criteria and onboarding procedures for appointed representative firms and individual representatives. These include identity and address verification, Companies House and credit checks, regulatory references, qualification verification, DBS checks, financial-solvency assessment, fit-and-proper review, FCA register checks, business-model assessment and formal approval before appointment.

The quality-assurance process prioritises higher-risk business, new advisers and advisers requiring enhanced monitoring. File checking includes suitability, AML evidence, fact finds, affordability documentation, product research, illustrations, applications, suitability reports and communication records. Remedial actions are tracked, with advisers required to complete corrections before cases can proceed where pre-sale approval is required.

Growth Opportunities

·         Recruit additional self-employed advisers and appointed representative firms within the permitted annual onboarding capacity.

·         Use a dedicated business development manager to build adviser and AR relationships and accelerate recruitment.

·         Increase protection penetration across the existing adviser base.

·         Improve profitability through continued supplier and systems rationalisation.

·         Develop social-media and professional-introducer channels alongside the established SEO and referral base.

·         Leverage the existing client database for remortgage, product-transfer, protection-review and lifetime-mortgage opportunities.

·         Integrate the platform into a larger regulated group that already has compliance capacity, technology and central administration.

Premises and Staff

The company currently operates from leased office premises of approximately 1,000 sq ft at a rent of approximately £825 per month. Management believes the business could operate remotely or be relocated without materially affecting advisers or customers. Two employed central team members provide compliance, commissions administration and compliance support, with the current director providing day-to-day regulatory oversight and adviser support.

Reason for Sale and Handover

The shareholders are considering a sale following approximately nine years of development and streamlining, together with a change in personal circumstances. The principal director is prepared to discuss a structured handover and may remain involved as a consultant, broker and/or in a regulatory oversight capacity on terms to be agreed.

Sale Structure and Next Steps

The shareholders are inviting expressions of interest for the acquisition of 100% of the issued share capital. A transaction will require FCA change-of-control approval and satisfactory arrangements for the relevant Senior Management Functions, insurer guarantees, historic liabilities and continuity of regulatory oversight.

Further information, including the identity of the business, detailed financial information, adviser schedules and compliance documentation, will be made available to approved parties following execution of a confidentiality agreement.

Information Required from Interested Parties

Background, ownership and regulatory status of the proposed purchaser.

Strategic rationale and intended plans for the business, advisers and staff.

Evidence of financial resources and ability to complete.

Proposed transaction structure, indicative valuation and funding arrangements.

Experience of FCA change-of-control processes and proposed regulatory management arrangements.

All enquiries should be directed exclusively through Peak Value Partners.