Subject to FSA s approval, it has acquired an owner ship stake in Essex & Capital Mortgage Corporation Limited. Prior to consummation of the transaction, Essex & Capital will acquire its packager affiliate ICMG. Essex & Capital is an independent mortgage broker that specialises in the sub-prime mortgage market.
In its new role, Essex & Capital will process residential loan packages from brokers or consumers and aggregate them for placement with lenders. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to acquire a stake in Essex & Capital,” said Tom Marano, senior managing director and global head of mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities at Bear Stearns. "This is a proven team with an impressive track record in the UK mortgage market. It puts in place another important element of our strategy to extend the global reach of our mortgage securities franchise and create additional growth opportunities."
Chris Gardner, managing director of Essex & Capital added: "We are particularly looking forward to developing our relationship with Bear Stearns.
By aligning ourselves with such a powerful participant in the mortgage market, we will be better able to serve our existing customers and expand our reach."
Essex & Capital currently has a working relationship with one of Bear Stearns mortgage subsidiaries, Rooftop Mortgages Ltd.
Julian Wells, head of Marketing at Merryl Lynch-owned Mortgages plc, commented: “The UK mortgage market is very strong and we should not be surprised to see big US investment firms taking an interest in it.”
Matt Gilmour, chief executive of Infinity Mortgages said: “This deal is clearly targeted at protecting Rooftops distribution channel.” He added that while consolidation would continue in the marketplace, it was more likely to come from within the UK.
