Initially both companies will continue to trade under separate brands with John Smith, managing director of Guaranteed, joining the existing Genesis directors in forming the new board.
The network compliance function for the merged operation will be based within the Genesis office in Peterborough, although current network arrangements will continue independently during the transition period. Additionally, the current Genesis packaging operation will move to the Guaranteed premises in Maidstone with all branded lending operating from Genesis’ Peterborough base.
Barry Robson, managing director of Genesis Home Loans, said: “The announcement is great news for everyone involved. A successful network needs a critical mass of appointed representatives (ARs) and this merger will see us doubling in size, providing us with the opportunity to service our customers more effectively.”
John Smith said: “This merger will further enable us to provide the products, services, technological platform and compliance support needed to ensure we run a successful network and packaging company for our customers.”
Nigel Gardner, business development director at Genesis, said: “This announcement will inevitably lead to operational changes in both offices; however this merger has been undertaken to ensure these are kept to a minimum.”
Richard Griffiths, managing director of Network Data Ltd, said: “It is interesting to see the trend towards firms in the industry working together. The only question I have of this particular merger is if they have actually reached their critical mass, as between them they still don’t have a large number of AR firms.”
