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Intermediary businesses expand operations

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Almost four in 10 (38%) mortgage intermediary firms are expanding as confidence in the sector defies broader economic challenges, Paragon Bank research has revealed.

Research for Paragon’s Mortgage Intermediary Insight Report (MIIR) found only 3% are reducing in size.

The survey of over 350 mortgage intermediaries, undertaken by BVA BDRC on behalf of Paragon, revealed that three in 10 (30%) companies are taking on additional experienced advisers and 19% are hiring trainees. Over one in five firms (22%) will boost their headcount by recruiting paraplanners to assist with paperwork and other tasks to help free-up adviser capacity.

Over half of respondents (51%) said that hiring experienced advisers is either fairly or very difficult, a figure that falls to just over one third (34%) when recruiting trainee advisers. To overcome this challenge, 23% of firms plan to upskill existing employees in future, while just over one third (34%) have already done so.

In addition to workforce enhancements, around one in five firms plan to bolster their activity through investment in additional technology (25%) or with new or additional marketing (24%).

This expansion reflects optimism amongst brokers that defies broader economic challenges, with more than eight in 10 (85%) stating that they are either ‘very confident’ or ‘fairly confident’ about the future of their company, while two thirds (66%) feel this way about the outlook for the intermediary sector of the mortgage industry.

Moray Hulme, Director for Mortgage Sales at Paragon Bank said: “It’s fantastic to see that intermediary firms are increasing their capacity by either recruiting or upskilling their existing employees in addition to investing in their marketing and technology.

“We know that businesses across all industries are anticipating some testing times as a result of the economic environment so it’s encouraging to see that brokers remain optimistic, so much so that they are actively investing in their growth. I think that this confidence lies in the strong levels of mortgage lending that we have experienced which is, in turn, driven by continued tenant demand and highlights the resilience of the property sector.”

For further information contact:

Jordan Lott
Media Relations Manager
Paragon
Tel: 0121 712 2319
www.paragonbank.co.uk 

Notes to editors:

Paragon Bank's Mortgage Intermediary Insight Report can be accessed here.

BVA BDRC surveyed 356 mortgage intermediaries during October and November 2022.  

Paragon lends to private individuals and limited companies and has mortgages suitable for single, self-contained properties, as well as HMOs and multi-unit blocks. Paragon can accommodate higher aggregate lending limits and more complex letting arrangements including local authority leases and corporate leases along with standard ASTs.

Paragon introduced its first product aimed at the professional property investor in 1995 and is a member of UK Finance, the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA), National Landlords Association (NLA) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). 

Paragon Bank PLC a subsidiary of the Paragon Banking Group PLC which is a FTSE 250 company based in Solihull in the West Midlands. Established in 1985, Paragon Banking Group PLC has over £13 billion of assets under management and manages over 450,000 customer accounts.

Paragon Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registered in England number 05390593. Paragon Bank PLC is registered on the Financial Services Register under the firm reference number 604551. Registered office 51 Homer Road, Solihull, West Midlands B91 3QJ.