Under the terms of the deal North West-based Furness will market the entire Mortgages plc product range to intermediaries using jointly-branded marketing and promotional material. A specialist team has been set up within the Furness Direct operation in Barrow-in-Furness and the regional sales team will promote the products.
The agreement with Mortgages plc is not the Society’s first foray into the non-conforming market. It previously had a distribution relationship with a specialist product provider and also allows a small degree of adverse credit on some of its own products. However, Furness said the deal with Mortgages plc was by far its most important venture to date.
Rob Cairns, chief executive of the Furness, said: “Mortgages plc has a market-leading product range and we welcome the opportunity to work with it. We are a forward-thinking organisation and with the experience we have already gathered in this sector I am confident this relationship can be a big success.”
Peter Beaumont, sales and marketing director at Mortgages plc, said: “We’re delighted to be extending our lender relationship programme to include Furness Building Society. We have known Rob and the team for a long time and it is great to be working with them.”
Simon Chalk, mortgage planner at Mortgage Portfolio Services, commented: “If the agreement is aimed at intermediaries then the more the merrier. Brokers like competition but it has got to come up with something new and different, not just rate wise but in lending flexibility and product criteria. That is the trick for new entrants to the sector.”
