Freedom to launch secured loans sourcing system

The system will offer around 10 of the main secured loan lenders as well as broker-focused unsecured lenders to source unsecured products.

With second charge lending attracting plenty of market attention as more brokers and lenders enter the sector, Freedom believed its system would give advisers the widest possible selection of products and providers.

Stephen Atkins, group company director for Freedom Finance, commented: “For brokers, it’s important to know all the products so they can give their clients best advice. This will give them access to something that will show them what’s out there.

“The loans market has its place and it has been wrongly ignored by many brokers. Often, for people satisfied with their mortgage, it’s easier to take out a loan and with some rates now as competitive as a mortgage, a loan can be the best advice.”

The system is an expansion of Freedom’s internal underwriting tool which will, using the client’s details, show what a particular lender will provide them. For larger cases, it can also check mortgage products automatically to see whether a remortgage or a secured loan is the best option.

Bob Sturges, director of communications at Money Partners, said: “As the sector becomes increasingly sophisticated, brokers who have previously not included secured loans in their offering will need assistance to source the best products. This initiative from Freedom is to be welcomed as further evidence of the continuing and widening appeal of secured loans.”

Mike Fitzgerald, sales director at Brentchase Financial Services, commented: “This will be invaluable to the industry as there are so many companies out there. Secured loans are going to be big and brokers have woken up to the fact they can be best advice so help with finding the right product is vital.”