Exponent will purchase ENRA from management and private equity firm Livingbridge.
Exponent Private Equity has agreed to acquire ENRA Group – parent of bridging lender West One Loans and specialist master broker Enterprise Finance.
Exponent will purchase ENRA from its management as well as private equity firm Livingbridge.
The firm will fund ENRA’s expansion into the specialist buy-to-let and second charge mortgage market, while it said the focus will be on meeting the needs of underserved customers.
David Stewart, the former chief executive of Coventry Building Society who has experience of secured lending, will join the board as chairman.
Mark Taylor, partner at Exponent, said: “We believe ENRA is uniquely positioned in the specialty finance market, offering its customers both speed and certainty across a range of bespoke residential and commercial mortgage products.
“We are excited to back Danny Waters and his team to continue the impressive growth the business has experienced to date, as well as supporting ENRA to develop new product lines.”
Danny Waters, chief executive of ENRA, said the company is in a key stage of its development.
He added: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Exponent and look forward to working together to take the business to the next level of growth.
“I would also like to thank David Campbell and the team at Livingbridge, whose fantastic support has allowed the business to grow five-fold in just three years.”
Shani Zindel, partner at Livingbridge, said: “We are very proud of our investment in ENRA. Danny and the team have done a fantastic job.
“The business has grown from a niche broker of loans to a leading provider of lending solutions – organically and through the acquisition of West One Loans.
“The investments made in people, IT, sales and marketing have yielded extremely impressive results – ENRA has grown successfully on every level.
“We are pleased to be able to continue as shareholders and look forward to the next stage of growth.”
