Moving from Olympia to Earls Court Two this year to accommodate the increased interest, the exhibition will be held on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 November. It is being supported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA), The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) and sponsored by Zurich.
The exhibitors will include lenders, packagers, networks, clubs, sourcing systems and will cover all areas of the mortgage industry, including prime and sub-prime, commercial and buy-to-let mortgages, as well as mortgage protection, broker IT solutions, franchise opportunities and conveyancing services. Major names exhibiting include Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Standard Life Bank. There will also be a wide variety of specialist niche companies, particularly in the areas of IT and compliance.
The CML will also organise a programme of seminars, workshops and drop-in advice clinics for the exhibition. CML director general Michael Coogan will give the opening address at the seminar programme. There will be a heavy focus on regulation, in anticipation of the regulation of mortgage advisers, due to be introduced in October 2004.
Initial figures from the first 1,000 brokers to have pre-registered for the event show that 33% of brokers are looking to be directly authorised by the FSA and 37% are still undecided about which route to take.
The Financial Services Authority will have a strong presence at the event, speaking at the seminars and offering a drop-in advice centre in the exhibition area. The AMI will also have a membership centre.
As well as sponsoring the Mortgage Business Expo, the Zurich Mortgage Network will have their own seminar area and exhibition stand, at which they will describe their own solution to regulation, with emphasis on their lap-top based technology systems.
Six companies (Webline, Mortgage Brain, The Exchange, Thoroughbred Solutions, 1st Software and Quay Software) have also grouped together to form a Technology Pavilion, with their own seminar area and presentation programme.
Competitions and promotions will be prominent features of the stands. Payment Shield is giving away a special ‘Italian Job edition’ Mini Cooper S to one lucky broker who visits their stand, and by visiting the igroup, visitors can enter a competition to win a Lamborghini. Mortgage Data Services are running a competition to win a top of the range lap-top and Atom Express are offering the opportunity to win a set of Ben Sayers golf clubs.
Show Director Andy White said: “The mortgage market is facing major change. For some this will mean opportunity, but for many it means uncertainty and worry.
“There will be no bigger or better gathering in the UK where the whole mortgage industry can meet and discuss the important issues they face over the next 12 months. For brokers, Mortgage Business Expo will be their best opportunity to gather the information they need to make an informed decision about their future.’’
The Mortgage Business Expo will be held in conjunction with the Business Finance Expo, which is targeted at commercial finance introducers. Business Finance Expo also has a seminar programme, intended to cater for visitors to both shows. Amongst their notable speakers, they have Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer and an Ernst and Young London Entrepreneur of the Year, and Zoe Appleyard, the private equity specialist form Durlacher Ventures.
Entry to the event is free, although for fast-track entry pre-booking is highly recommended (Ticket Hotline: 01923 690 663). The seminar programmes are also free and there is no pre-booking.
