Homeloan Management Limited (HML) announced an important strategic decision to open additional premises in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, to operate alongside its existing operations in Skipton - North Yorkshire, Padiham - Lancashire and Glasgow. This bucks the trend of many financial services companies and other businesses that are relocating their back office functions and call centres to India and other remote locations, attracted by much lower salary costs and overheads.
Steve Haggerty, HML’s managing director, explains: “We process mortgages on behalf of over 30 major UK lenders, and it is essential for us to provide excellent service to each and every one of our customers. That requires a high level of technical skill and a good understanding of the UK mortgage market. Whilst I understand the attraction of lower costs in countries such as India, we believe that to provide the right level of service our team needs to have both the right technical knowledge and to be on the same wavelength as our customers. Carefully selected cost locations in the British Isles can combine the benefits of a cost effective solution without compromising on high quality service.”
“Londonderry is an excellent choice for us. High quality office space is available. Even more important, there is a highly educated and talented local labour force who speak our customers’ language and understand the business environment in this country. It also gives us a perfect location on the edge of the eurozone to build our business outside the UK, in particular in the Republic of Ireland. In deciding to invest in Londonderry, we very much value the help and support of Invest Northern Ireland and the local business and political community in Derry.”
HML remains totally committed to its existing operations in Skipton, Padiham and Glasgow, and the fourth business unit in Londonderry will function in parallel with them. Steve Haggerty explains: “HML’s expansion over the past couple of years has been spectacular, with an increase in assets under administration of 80% in 2003 – with the landmark of £20 billion being achieved in November. Our decision to invest in Northern Ireland is driven by the success of our business and the need to bring additional capacity on-stream to handle these higher business volumes. An increasing number of lenders are convinced of the cost and service benefits of outsourcing the servicing of their mortgage book to specialists such as HML, and our expansion is set to continue.”
“We’re entering a new phase in our growth and we look forward to the future with great confidence.”
