Pearl Overseas is an English language internet service which allows British people to find and buy property in Spain from Spanish property developers and will be launched on 15 November.
Barclays has announced its intention to enter into an agreement with Premier Mortgage Service and Facilisimo.com, a Spanish property search engine. Together they will launch Pearl Overseas, a company which will market Spanish homes to British people.
Pearl Overseas is the first English language internet service marketing pre-vetted Spanish property developments to the UK market. It will launch in November initially with around 150 developments from the top 70 property developers in Spain, which means over 1000 individual properties will be listed. However, IFAs who are interested in joining the scheme can register on ‘pearloverseas.com’ to gain access to a service that will enable them to help their clients enter the overseas property market.
The service will provide easy access to the Spanish property market while acting to safeguard the interests of prospective buyers and assist British people who are looking to buy property from trusted and respected sources. Pearl Overseas will only market properties which have been independently certified by legal teams, giving buyers the reassurance that they are securing good title on their property from reputable providers.
Barclays guarantees that all the properties advertised on Pearl Overseas have undergone due diligence and developers are reputable and of good standing, and all properties listed carry all the necessary permits and licences. As a further re-assurance all monies deposited by the buyer will be guaranteed by a bond provided by Barclays or another bank.
The structure of the partnership between Barclays, Premier Mortgage Service and Facilisimo.com means both IFAs and their clients can consider purchasing property in Spain with peace of mind, from trusted sources, with no hidden fees and commissions.
IFAs will receive a 2.5 per cent commission on the value of the property sale when the client has paid a deposit and signed a contract on the property. Pearl Overseas provides IFAs with investment opportunities on which they can advice their clients, thus adding another service and potential revenue source to the participating IFAs. Comparatively, this means the buyer pay less commission than the norm as Spanish property intermediaries/agents typically charge a commission of between 10 and 18 per cent. Furthermore, prices listed on the Pearl Overseas website are guaranteed to be the same for UK and Spanish buyers – which historically has not always applied for British people buying property in Spain.
In addition to gaining commission on sales, IFAs can obtain further revenue by referring any subsequent mortgage business to Barclays, through a simple process offered through Pearl Overseas. Although IFAs are free to recommend any mortgage product available in the market, Barclays is confident its range of specialist products will prove more than adequate to capture a substantial share of the mortgage referrals generated by this service.
Hugues Pfyffer, director for international clients for Barclays Spain, said: “Barclays has clearly stated that it wishes to grow the income it generates from outside the UK. Spain has always been an attractive market and it is also where we have our largest presence in continental Europe. Today’s announcement will further strengthen our position in the market as a leading provider of mortgages to international clients and will be a valuable platform on which to increase our share of the mortgage market in Spain.”
John Malone, managing director of Premier Mortgage Service, said: “For the last 18 months we have been researching the overseas market and in particular Spain, for suitable partners for this additional venture for PMS members. We are delighted to announce our business relationship with both Barclays and Facilisimo.com, which we know will provide the thousands of intermediaries clients the confidence and reassurance of purchasing property initially in Spain.”
Ernesto Plaza, managing director of Facilisimo.com, said: “Spain’s popularity among the British makes the UK a natural focal point when we look to build on our popularity as Spain’s leading listings website and expand into new markets. The strength of the players involved in Pearl Overseas makes it UK’s most reliable channel into the Spanish market and a highly viable option for IFAs wishing to help clients explore the Spanish property market with confidence.”
Spain continues to remain a popular destination for British people who are looking to purchase property overseas with around 70,000 British people buying properties in each of the last three years. According to the latest Spanish census, 270,000 British nationals registered with Spanish councils in 2006, an increase of 28.6 per cent compared to 2005. Research undertaken by Barclays last year also revealed that number of British people looking to buy property overseas is set to double from 2.2 million today to over 4.4. million.
