Intermediary firms continue to grow in size, both in terms of the number of offices they operate and the number of fee/commission earning people they employ according to the research.
More than 300 intermediaries in all parts of the country responded to the independent survey conducted on behalf of IMLA.
The survey discovered the majority of respondents (68 per cent) operated through just one office, but the proportion was marginally lower than one year earlier, when it stood at 70 per cent.
At the same time, the proportion of intermediary firms with between two and five offices grew from 20 per cent to 22 per cent. Larger firms with more than five offices continue to represent a minority of respondents, representing 9 per cent, compared with slightly under 10 per cent in early 2006.
Firms operate with a single fee earner amount to 34 per cent, compared with 38 per cent a year ago. The proportion with between two and five fee earners has increased from 39 per cent to 42 per cent, and those with over ten fee earners have grown from 13 per cent to 14 per cent. The average number of fee earners is just over 4.6, higher than last quarter or in Q1 2006.
Guy Batchelor, chairman of IMLA, said: “What emerges is a sector that is in rude good health. Not only are intermediaries holding their own, but they are also gradually growing the reach of their businesses in response to a healthy market. While small scale, one-office firms continue to dominate the sector, representing more than two-thirds of the industry, there has been a modest growth in the proportion of firms that operate through two or more offices.
“Likewise, measured in terms of the number of fee-earning professionals they employ, there is steady, but not explosive growth, with a small rise in the average number of fee earners employed. Clearly, a significant number of firms with a single fee earner have added additional resources to their business, reflecting the favourable evolution of the market over the past year. Over 6 per cent of firms now have more than 50 fee earners.
"This gradual trend whereby intermediary firms become larger reflects both the continued growth in the market and the impact of regulation on the market.”
Volumes of mortgages handled per month by intermediaries were strong last year, with intermediaries reporting a record average of 20 arranged in the fourth quarter 2006 survey. Since then, there has been a slight decline in mortgage volumes reported by intermediaries, with the average handled per office standing at 19 in the most recent survey.
Batchelor, added: “This is in part a seasonal effect, with less business handled over the New Year period. It is also no doubt partly the aftermath of a particularly busy period in summer and autumn 2006 when many customers re-mortgaged to take advantage of very attractive fixed rate deals in an environment of rising short term interest rates.”
From the statistics collected by IMLA, 38 per cent of intermediaries arrange between six and 16 mortgages per month, 19 per cent between 16 and 40 and 14 per cent arrange more than 40 per month.
