Market conditions have meant that the original business model has been difficult to sustain, and the response to marketing has been less than planned.
However the original franchisees of Ethical Mortgage Solutions have grouped together to take the concept of providing truly ethical advice to clients forward, forming a new business entity.
Steve Royal, founder of EMS comments: “After two years of hard work and dedication to create the ‘customer friendly’ Ethical brand, and the support of all of the brokers who joined me, it is very difficult for me to admit that the original assumptions of the business regarding the response to our marketing campaign and the levels of completed mortgage business have fallen far short of our expectations.
"Like all mortgage companies and mortgage brokers we were badly affected by M-Day and the very slow mortgage market which followed, but we can not put the full blame onto these external factors.
"The truth is that our original marketing and PR strategy failed to deliver the key USP’s of Ethical to its intended sub-prime customers – which was ‘Come to us for unbiased mortgage advice with no broker fees.”
Alan Fernley a Franchisee of EMS commented: "I know I can speak on behalf of the majority of the franchisees and state that we are all very sorry that we find ourselves in this situation. As members, we bought into EMS because we believed in the concept of the company; namely consumers within the market deserve the right to top class mortgage advice, particularly the vulnerable ones within the sub-prime market. This has not changed; we are all committed to work together to continue providing this service to consumers.”
Spokesman for the new organisation Jim Cook, states “Whilst the original business model has proved disappointing. The advisors are still strongly committed to the concept – providing ethical advice to clients.” He adds “The business model has been refined to overcome the previous shortcomings and we are working together with a new company structure, where the business will be owned and managed by the advisors, to take the business forward.”
