The new entity covers the entire Jerrold portfolio, primarily offering residential and commercial mortgage loans to niche market segments underserved by mainstream lenders.
Marc Goldberg, Together board director, said: “We’ve created this new brand so that we’re easier to do business with.”
The top secret restructure of the group has been underway for some nine to 10 months after independent research revealed that some brokers were confused about the diversity of the group.
Bridging Introducer revealed back in June that exciting times were ahead for the group and that a major overhaul was due.
Gary Bailey, Together sales director, said: “Everything is now under the Together brand – everything. Any lending that we do throughout the group will fall under the Together brand.
“We’ve simplified what we have been doing so as to make it easier for brokers to understand who they are dealing with. We’re the biggest lender in bridging when it comes to the numbers. Loans and mortgages are just as important but we felt sometimes that message wasn’t getting across the way it should have been through our fragmented group structure. The new brand identity will affirm our status as a leading finance provider.
Bottom line
“As one of the North West’s most profitable companies, Together has established itself over 40 years of successful trading as a serious challenger to mainstream lenders, thanks to its common-sense approach to lending.”
And he added: “For brokers the new brand will complement the improvements we’ve been making to ensure their process is a quick and easy one.
“Our new broker portal will evolve in the coming months as we embed the new brand, which will help us in improving efficiency and meeting the demands of new regulation.
“The portal was designed together with our brokers, to cater for their individual processes, so that we can provide them with the highest standard of service and it’s this ethos of working in partnership that has helped shape the new brand identity.”
The new brand encompasses the full range of the group’s products, which were formerly known under separate names including Auction Finance, Blemain Finance, Bridging Finance, Cheshire Mortgage Corporation and Lancashire Mortgage Corporation.
Goldberg added: “As a result of our long-term success we had accumulated many different brand names. We wanted to simplify that, since ultimately our key proposition remains the same across all our products and that is taking an individual approach to each case.
“Often that allows us to respond more quickly and meet tight timescales and that’s been a major factor in our growth.”
Loans are serviced directly from the company’s headquarters in Cheadle, where the staff headcount has also increased by 12% in just 12 months, currently standing at 390 employees.
Robb Jupp, chief executive of distributor Brightstar, said: “I was really pleased to be invited to take part in the brand workshop and got up very early to make the journey!
“Over the years, I’ve worked in partnership with the team and their support has been invaluable in helping my business to grow, despite sometimes challenging market conditions.
“It was great to be able to influence and shape the direction of the new brand, and to offer input from a broker’s perspective.
“For me, the new name reflects our working relationship and I love the new logo and brand design.”
