Mortgage Introducer Online exclusively revealed on Monday that Charlesworth is currently in negotiations with TMO having been advised that the company are to make him redundant.
This latest revelation follows the closure of TMO’s network proposition earlier this month, while back in January TMO was also forced to make redundancies in its packaging arm and reduce its external sales force from nine to seven as it attempted to re-focus on branded lending and secured loans.
Nine operations staff in the packaging divisions lost their jobs, while two vacancies in the external sales force will now not be filled.
Stuart Johnson, sales director at TMO, declined to comment but said the company will be making a statement in due course. The company will also address speculation that it is to become a lender.
Charlesworth also declined to comment.
Stephen Atkins, managing director of The Freedom Network, said Charlesworth’s exit speaks volumes about the current state of TMO. “To let Charlesworth go has to say a lot about TMO. It raises serious questions about where TMO is going. I’m not sure it can afford to let Charlesworth go,” he said.
· Following speculation that TMO may become a lender, The Professional Mortgage Packagers Alliance (PMPA) announced this week it is in various stages of discussions with a number of providers looking at the potential of becoming a lender in its own right.
Jon O'Brien, operations director at PMPA, commented: “PMPA has been approached by a number of interested parties over the last few months. It is apparent that there are funders with an appetite to secure distribution in specific areas of the market, most notably in the non-conforming arena.”
PMPA said should it make a decision to proceed, its lender plans should happen in the next two or three months.
